tw'  6> 


THE  IRISH  TANGLE 

AND 

A  WAY  OUT 


THOMAS  COSTELLO  JOHNSON 


"0 


NEW  YORK 
EDWIN  S.  GORHAM,  PUBLISHER 
11  WEST  45th  STREET 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRAK* 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  MASS. 


Copyright,  1920, 

BY 

Thomas  Costello  Johnson 


t  i  y  i^  ^-' 


TO 
MY   FRIENDS    ON    BOTH    SIDES 
OF  THE  ATLANTIC  AND 
ALL  WELI^WISHERS 
OF  IRELAND 


CONTENTS 

PACE 

INTRODUCTORY 9 

Reasons  for  writing. — A  talk  in  the  South,  which 
led  to  others  elsewhere. — A  word  from  the  late 
Colonel  Roosevelt. 

CHAPTER  I.— From  New  York  to  Ireland  in  War- 
time       13 

Distinguished  passengers. — Life  on  hoard  ship. — 
Army  officers  and  men. — A  submarine  scare. — At 
Liverpool. — War-marks,  and  the  British  spirit. 
— Holyhead  to  Dublin. — England  and  Ireland — A 
contrast. 

CHAPTER  II.— Early  Events  of  Great  Importance    22 

Ireland  invaded. — Folk-lore,  legend,  and  authentic 
history. — Troubles  at  home. — Finn  MacCool. — 
Saint  Patrick,  and  other  Saints  and  Missionaries. 
Art  and  literature. — Classes  of  society. — The  Bre- 
hon  Law.~The  Danish  invasion. — Malacki  and 
Brian. — Internal  strife. — Roderick  O'Connor,  Su- 
preme King. 

CHAPTER  III.— Later  Invasion  and  Rebellion 40 

Dermot  MacMurragh  and  his  Foreign  Allies. — 
Archbishop  O'Toole,  the  peacemaker. — Henry  II. 
distributes  Ireland  among  his  followers. — King 
Richard. — King  John  and  the  Irish  factions. — The 
"English  Pale."— The  Bruces  in  Ireland.— "Statute 
of  Kilkenny." — Richard  II.  tries  to  stop  rebellion. 
— Parliament,    1449,    and    1466. — The    Imposter 

5 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Simnel  and  German  aid. "Poyning's  Law." — 

Policy  of  Henry  VIII. — Edward  VI. — Mary  and 
Elizabeth. — The  Geraldine  Rebellion. — Foreign  ex- 
peditions.— Desmond  despoiled. — Rebellion  under 
Hugh  O'Neill,  assisted  by  Spain. — Lord  Mount  joy's 
Victory. — ^The  Plantation  of  Ulster. — Charles  I. 
and  Wentworth. — The  Rebellion  of  1641. — Royal- 
ist Ireland  and  Cromwell. — James  II.  and  William 
of  Orange. — Repeal  of  all  offensive  laws  by  James. 
James  defeated  at  Old  Bridge. — Repressive  Laws. — 
Laws  injurious  to  Irish  trade. 

CHAPTER  IV.— The  Union  and  Some  of  Its  Results    60 

Distinguished  leaders. — Various  societies  formed. 
— The  Volunteers,  and  the  1783  Parliament. — Coer- 
cion.— Enfranchisement  of  Roman  Catholics. — 
Wolf  Tone  and  the  1798  Rebellion.— Northern 
Orangemen. — The  Union. — Efforts  to  Repeal. — 
Daniel  O'Connell  enters  Parliament. — National  ed- 
ucation.— ^Various  reforms. — The  "Young  Ireland 
Party." — John  Mitchell  and  independence. — ^The 
Famine,  1845-7,  and  American  aid. — The  Church 
of  Ireland  dis-established. 

CHAPTER  V. — Remedial  Measures  of  Importance.  .     78 

Progressive  legislation. — The  Land  Acts,  between 
1870  and  1909,  and  their  results. — Sir  Horace 
Plunkett's  Co-operative  plans. — The  Irish  Agricul- 
tural Society. — Congested  Districts'  Board. — La- 
borers' cottages. — The  Recess  Committee. — Local 
Government,  1908,  and  its  working. — Irish  Univer- 
sities.— Secondary  education. — Gaelic  League. 

CHAPTER  VI.— Home  Rule  and  the  1916  Rebellion    99 

"Home  Rule"  and  Parnell.— The  Gladstone  Bills, 
and  Opposition. — House  of  Lords  disciplined. — 
The  Asquith  Bill,  1910,  and  Ulster's  Pledge.— Sinn 
Fein's     Volunteers.  —  Ulster     Volunteers,  —  Sinn 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Fein's  beginning;  and  attitude  toward  the  Home 
Rule  bill. — Sinn  Fein  and  the  War. — Sir  Roger 
Casement  and"  Germany". — Destruction  Wrought 
by  1916  Rebellion, — Redmond's  Volunteers. — Mr. 
Asquith's  visit,  and  payment  for  damage. — The  Ef- 
fect of  the  Rebellion  in  the  Empire;  in  Ireland; 
and  in  Germany  and  Austria. — Arguments  for 
Home  Rule,  and  the  appeal  to  President  Wilson. 
— The  Ulster  rejoinder,  and  arguments  against 
Home  Rule. 

CHAPTER  VH. — Attitude    in    the   War  and   the 
Irish  Convention  .  122 

Army  unprepared. — The  Navy  and  Admiral  Sims. 
—Volunteers. — Ireland's  first  aid  to  the  King- 
dom.— Her  contribution. — Reasons  for  later  aloof- 
ness.— Mr.  Bonar  Law's  "Monroe  Doctrine"— Con- _ 
scriptj^on,  and  England's,  Labor  Unions. — Anti- 
jconscription  in  Ireland,  and  t^eloyaT  support  of 
many^-Cork  Red  Cross  Work. — What  Americans 
in  jKland  did. — The  Irish  Convention's  task. — 
Personnel. — Failure  to  agree. — Reports. — Sinn 
Fein  and  the  General  Election. — Note  by  two 
members  of  the  Irish  Convention. 

CHAPTER  VIII.— The  Irish  Recruiting  Council.  . .   147 

Patriotic  effort  to  ward  off  conscription. — Arduous 
work  of  the^  Council.— Newspaper  accounts  of  two 
meetings  in  the  Sligo  Area. — Reasons  for  the  fail- 
ure of  the  Council  to  attain  their  goal. — Bishop 
Dowse  on  Ireland's  Lost  Opportunity. 

CHAPTER  IX.— A  Solution 172 

Present  state:  Prosperous,  but  unsettled — Exports 
and  Imports. — Bank  deposits. — Fishing  returns. — 
Changing  conditions. — Sergeant  Sullivan,  K.  C,  on 
lawlessness,  and  his  appeal  against  crime. — Set- 
tlement desirable. — Unionists  and  Partition. — The 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Centre  Party. — Irish  Reconstruction  Association. 
— Summary. — Proposed  solution :  Improvement 
of  national  education. — No  religious  education  dur- 
ing school  hours. — Unity,  the  most  desirable  asset. 
— Railway  improvement. — Government  co-opera- 
tion to  be  given  generously. — A  Port  in  the  West. — 
A  Federal  Parliament,  for  England,  Scotland, 
Wales  and  Ireland,  with  suitable  safeguards  for 
the  Irish  Provinces,  the  best  plan  today. — General 
Gough  on  conciliation. — The  New  Bill. 

APPENDIX.— War  Time  Addresses 188 

j/Addresses  by  the  author  and  distinguished  Irish- 
l^^n,  on  the  War  and  Ireland's  duty,  at  Schull. — 
The  Palace  Theatre,  Cork. — Mallow. — Tullamore. 
— The  Mansion  House,  Dublin. — Ballymena. — 
Rathfriland. — Sligo  and  Ballymote. — The  Recruit- 
ing Council's  acknowledgment. 


INTRODUCTORY 

Reasons  for  writing. — A   talk   in   the  South,  which   led   to 
others  elsewhere. — A  word  from  the  late  Colonel  Roosevelt. 

HORTLY  before  leaving  Ireland,  where 
I  had  spent  several  months,  chiefly  in  go- 
ing throughout  the  land  telling  the  people 
of  America's  part  in  the  great  war,  a 
friend  suggested  that,  considering  I  had  traveled  in 
all  quarters  of  the  country  and  had  met  leading  men 
in  almost  every  walk  of  life,  of  all  kinds  of  political 
affiliation  and  religious  belief,  as  far  apart  as  the 
Lord  Mayor  of  Belfast  and  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Cork, 
and  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin  and  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Bishop  of  Cork,  and  had  heard  their  views  and 
aspirations,  man  to  man,  my  impressions  of  Ireland 
and  the  War  should  be  put  in  print  and  placed  on  the 
market.  The  suggestion  took  me  by  surprise,  as  the 
idea  of  writing  on  so  fascinating  a  subject  had  never 
occurred  to  my  mind;  but,  after  some  consideration, 
I  decided  to  accede  to  my  friend's  request,  in  the  hope 
that  my  effort  may  help  Ireland  toward  her  destiny, 
and  also  help  some  people  to  a  better  understanding 
of  Ireland. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  here  that,  my  visit  to 
Ireland  was  not  the  outcome  of  a  desire  for  a  holiday 
in  foreign  parts  during  the  war.    Every  loyal  Ameri- 


10  THE     IRISH    TANGLE 


can  abstained,  as  far  as  possible,  from  holiday-mak- 
ing during  the  time  the  country  was  bending  her 
efforts  toward  bringing  the  war  to  a  speedy  and  suc- 
cessful end.  In  view  of  the  public  lectures  that  I 
gave,  to  gatherings  as  small  as  sixty  and  as  large  as 
five  thousand,  some  of  which  were  generously  re- 
ported in  the  Irish  newspapers,  and  some  in  the  Eng- 
lish newspapers  also,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  state  that 
I  did  not  go  to  Ireland  as  a  propagandist,  nor  had 
I  official  relations  with  either  the  American  or  the 
British  Government.  Personal  reasons,  which  would 
be  of  no  interest  to  the  reader,  were  entirely  respon- 
sible; and  I  shall  always  feel  grateful  to  all  my 
friends  who  helped  to  make  the  way  easy  for  me,  and 
to  the  good  people  of  Ireland  for  their  kindly  wel- 
come and  unfailing  courtesy  during  my  stay  among 
them. 

After  deciding  to  go  to  Ireland,  I  thought  it  would 
be  well  to  take  over  some  views  on  war  preparation  in 
America,  to  be  used  when  telling  my  friends  here  and 
there  in  Ireland  of  America's  part  in  the  War. 
Through  the  kindness  of  the  Reverend  George  B.  Fair- 
brother,  M.A.,  Rector  of  Schull,  a  lecture  was  given 
in  that  town  soon  after  my  arrival  in  Ireland,  which 
was  listened  to  with  great  attention  by  a  large  gather- 
ing of  people  of  various  political  leanings.  This 
meeting  led  to  others  in  different  parts  of  the  coun- 
try; and,  no  matter  where  I  spoke  in  public,  the  peo- 
ple showed  a  deep  interest  in  what  I  told  them  and 
voiced  their    approval    unmistakably.      In   the    ap- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 11 

pendix  will  be  found  accounts  of  several  meetings, 
as  they  appeared  in  the  daily  press.  I  add,  at  this 
point,  a  letter  that  was  sent  to  me  in  Ireland  by  a  man 
who  was  much  interested  in  Ireland's  welfare  and 
whom  I  had  the  honor  of  knowing  personally,  our 
great  American,  the  late  Theodore  Roosevelt.  This 
letter  was  read  at  many  meetings,  and  appeared  in 
several  newspapers  in  Ireland  and  England: 


"New  York,  April  12,  1918. 

My  Dear  Dr.  Johnson: 

I  trust  that  you  will  have  a  most  useful  as  well  as 
a  most  pleasant  trip  in  Ireland.  There  is  an  old  and 
long  standing  friendship  between  the  people  of  Ire- 
land and  the  people  of  the  United  States.  I  hope  you 
will  set  before  them  the  fact  that  the  United  States 
has  entered  this  war,  partly  of  course  because  of  in- 
tolerable grievances  of  our  own  against  Germany, 
but  also  as  part  of  the  great  fight  for  justice  and 
liberty  against  the  most  brutal  militaristic  despotism 
of  modern  times.  America  entered  the  war  very 
late  and  I  sincerely  wish  that  she  had  undertaken  her 
task  two  years  before  she  did.  But  our  people  are 
now  waked  up  and  are  beginning  to  bend  with 
efficiency  their  enormous  energy  and  power  to  the 
task  before  them:  and  they  will  never  give  in.  I  hope 
you  will  say  to  the  people  of  Ireland  whom  you  may 


12 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

meet,  that  America's  one  desire  is  for  peace  and  for  a 
good  understanding  between  nations  and  for  securing 
the  right  of  every  well-behaved  people,  great  or 
small,  to  live  unmolested  by  others,  so  long  as  it  does 
not  molest  others;  and  the  test  of  our  friendship  in 
the  future  for  any  nation  should  be  that  nation's  atti- 
tude in  this  war. 

Faithfully  yours, 

Theodore  Roosevelt. 
Rev.  Thomas  C.  Johnson, 
Church  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 

Bensonhurst,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y." 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  13 


CHAPTER  I 
From  New  York  to  Ireland  in  War-Time 

Distinguished  passengers. — Life  on  board  ship. — Army 
officers  and  men. — A  submarine  scare. — At  Liverpool. — War- 
marks,  and  the  British  spirit. — Holyhead  to  Dublin. — Eng- 
land and  Ireland. — A  contrast. 

[ANY  distinguished  people  were  on  board 
the  S,S.  Cedric,  Captain  Carter,  on  which 
the  writer  traveled,  including  about  one 
hundred  officers  and  three  thousand  men 
of  the  United  States  Army,  the  Archbishop  of  York 
and  his  chaplain.  Sir  Ernest  Shackleton,  an  English 
Labor  Commission — comprising  Charles  Duncan, 
M.P.,  and  Messrs.  Appleton,  Mosses  and  Butterworth 
— who  made  life  on  board  so  pleasant  and  interesting 
that  the  thirteen  days  occupied  in  the  voyage  passed 
by  quickly.  Precaution  and  vigilance  obtained  all 
the  way.  Before  leaving  port  the  military  left  the 
promenade  decks,  and  remained  inside  until  the  ship 
had  got  well  out  to  sea.  After  sunset  all  port  holes 
were  closed  and  remained  so  until  sunrise.  Lights 
were  not  visible  from  the  outside;  and  a  large  guard 
was  constantly  on  duty. 

The  usual  ship-games  were  played  during  the  day, 
and  at  night  those  on  board  were  treated  frequently 
to  a  concert  or  lecture.     In  the  Regiment  and  the 


14 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Machine  Gun  Company  were  many  able  musicians, 
who  generously  contributed  of  their  talents  and  time 
to  various  concerts  and  entertainments.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  who  had  done  so  much  during  his 
all-too-short  tour  of  America,  toward  strengthening 
the  bond  of  unity  between  the  British  Empire  and 
America,  gave  a  very  impressive  lecture  on  the  war, 
the  part  that  America  would  have  an  opportunity  to 
take,  and  the  importance  of  the  standards  which  those 
who  were  then  going  to  France  should  set  for  their 
fellows  who  were  to  come  later.  On  Sunday  his 
Grace  preached  on  the  text,  "Keep  that  which  is  com- 
mitted to  thy  trust,"  to  a  large  gathering  of  men  who 
crowded  round  to  hear  his  helpful  words  of  encour- 
agement and  advice.  His  Grace,  who  was  very  pop- 
ular among  the  passengers,  seemed  highly  pleased 
with  the  speed  and  determination  with  which  America 
was  preparing  to  render  further  assistance  in  the  war; 
but  he  felt  somewhat  perturbed  that  he  should  have 
to  remain  so  long  on  board  ship  without  any  infor- 
mation from  the  front,  at  a  time  when  "the  destinies 
of  the  Empire  were  in  the  balance."  A  lecture  was 
given  by  Sir  Ernest  Shackleton  on  his  Trans- Antarctic 
Expedition  of  1914-1916,  in  connection  with  which 
he  showed  a  book  of  photographs  illustrating  various 
incidents  of  the  undertaking.  The  lecturer  was  loud 
in  his  praise  of  the  men  who  had  accompanied  him, 
many  of  whom  were  Irish,  and  paid  special  tribute  to 
their  unswerving  loyalty  and  dauntless  courage.  He 
also  told  how  he  had  offered  his  ship  and  men  to  the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 15 

Government  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  of  their 
decimation  of  his  offer,  preferring  that  he  should  go 
on  with  the  expedition. 

The  two  colonels  in  charge  of  the  Regiment  and 
the  Gun  Company,  the  other  officers,  and  the  men 
under  their  command  were  of  the  finest  calibre,  of 
whom  America  had  every  reason  to  be  proud.  Dur- 
ing the  day  the  officers  had  schools  of  instruction  in 
military  tactics  and  strategy,  and  all  seemed  anxious 
to  become  more  proficient  and  to  improve  the  time 
afforded  by  the  voyage.  The  Regimental  Colonel 
showed  decided  interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  men, 
and  paid  daily  visits  to  all  parts  of  the  ship  to  see 
that  they  were  as  comfortably  cared  for  as  possible. 
Needless  to  say  that  he  was  fully  appreciated  by 
those  under  him;  and  that  he  held  the  confidence, 
respect  and  affection  of  all.  The  Colonel  in  charge 
of  the  Gun  Company  was  extremely  popular  with  his 
men,  a  teacher  and  leader  of  the  first  order,  whose 
face  and  bearing  were  an  index  to  his  sterling  char- 
acter. No  wonder  that  the  American  soldier  loves 
his  leaders  and  is  willing  to  do  anything  for  them, 
when  they  are  made  of  such  material.  The  Medical 
Officers,  too,  were  men  who  never  spared  themselves 
throughout  the  voyage.  Medical  inspection  took 
place  every  day;  but  this  did  not  end  the  work  of  those 
consecrated  gentlemen,  who  were  always  on  duty,  and 
took  a  much  deeper  interest  in  the  men's  welfare  than 
that  which  is  called  "official." 

Boat  drill  was  an  everyday  occurrence.    When  the 


16 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

whistle  blew,  officers,  men  and  civilians  marched  to 
their  boat  stations,  each  one  with  his  life  preserver 
ready  to  man  his  allotted  boat  or  raft.  Throughout 
the  voyage  life  preservers  were  worn;  and  while  it 
took  a  few  days  to  get  accustomed  to  these  awkward 
safeguards,  yet,  before  the  end  of  the  trip  they  were 
easily  carried  and  seemed  to  cause  little  discomfort. 
The  twelve  ships  in  the  convoy,  which  carried  thirty 
thousand  troops,  were  carefully  escorted.  In  the  sub- 
marine zone  British  destroyers  did  splendid  work, 
dashing  hither  and  thither  and  thoroughly  scouring 
a  vast  area  as  the  ships  moved  along.  The  results  of 
destruction  wrought  by  submarines  appeared  on  the 
ocean  as  we  neared  our  destination;  and  on  one  occa- 
sion a  submarine  caused  some  excitement  among 
those  in  the  convoy.  Two  destroyers  went  to  investi- 
gate, and  in  due  time  returned  with  a  reassuring 
report.  Apart  from  this  affair  the  journey  was  rather 
uneventful ;  and,  as  the  weather  was  good,  only  slight 
inconvenience  was  experienced  by  the  rather  lengthy 
crossing. 

Liverpool  was  reached  on  Sunday  morning,  April 
28th.  The  first  sight  that  the  writer  beheld  was  an 
American  ambulance,  and  the  second  sight  was  a 
German  ship  in  Allied  war  paint  flying  the  American 
flag.  This  ship  had  brought  a  large  number  of  Ameri- 
can troops  over,  and  was  preparing  to  return  and  con- 
tinue in  that  useful  service.  The  American  am- 
bulance, and  the  German  ship  as  an  American  trans- 
port, impressed  on  all  the  fact  already  known,  that 


AND    A    WAY    OUT        17 

America  was  going  on  with  the  business  of  the  war 
in  a  thorough-going  fashion.  The  men  disembarked, 
and  the  civilians  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  British 
Immigration  Authorities — who  were  most  courteous 
in  their  duties — and  passed  on  to  the  Custom  House 
Officials,  who  did  their  part  in  record  time. 

In  Liverpool  the  writer  had  twelve  hours  to  wait 
for  a  train  to  Holyhead,  from  which  port  the  Kings- 
town boat  sailed.  In  those  twelve  hours  he  secured 
a  great  deal  of  enlightenment  on  the  war  and  its 
effects.  The  streets  were  filled  with  wounded  and 
disabled  soldiers,  and  any  men  on  the  streets,  not 
wearing  service  or  hospital  uniforms,  were  obviously 
too  old  for  military  service  or  else  wore  the  "honor- 
ably discharged"  badge.  The  whole  atmosphere  was 
sombre;  and  all,  men  and  women  alike,  showed  un- 
mistakable signs  of  a  long  strain  and  a  severe  regi- 
men. A  soldier  passed  by  wearing  a  new  kind  of 
badge,  and,  upon  inquiring  its  meaning  the  writer 
was  informed  that  he  was  one  of  England's  "Con- 
temptibles" — one  of  those  noble  fellows  who  rushed 
to  service  at  the  opening  of  the  war — ^whom  the  Ger- 
man Emperor  characterized  as  "Contemptible."  He 
should  rather  have  called  that  army,  if  he  had  had  any 
prophetic  vision,  "Immortal,"  for  they  have  surely 
won  that  title  by  their  patriotism,  courage,  and  self- 
sacrifice.  They,  truly,  "saved  the  day."  The  shops 
of  course  were  closed;  but  the  windows  displayed 
large  signs  of  "Controlled"  goods — and  they  were 
"Controlled."     In  one  of  the  large  hotels  where  he 


18 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

went  for  luncheon,  the  writer  was  requested  to  pro- 
duce his  meat  card,  his  sugar  card,  and  his  butter 
card,  of  which  he  knew  nothing.  A  luncheon  with- 
out these  luxuries  was  however  served,  and  while 
making  the  acquaintance  of  the  "war  bread,"  dif- 
ferent from  anything  previously  seen  or  imagined, 
the  advice  often  given  by  the  diligent  steward,  Mac, 
on  board  ship  occurred  to  his  mind.  As  the  good 
steward  served  the  hot  rolls  daily  he  was  wont  to 
remark,  "eat  plenty  of  these  now,  for  you  won't  see 
white  bread  again  until  you  make  the  return  journey."' 
Mac  was  right;  even  in  Ireland  real  old-time  white 
bread  was  not  offered  in  the  hotel  fare.  Those  hours 
spent  in  Liverpool  revealed  what  war  really  meant; 
and  the  writer  felt  impressed  with  the  hardships  and 
sorrows  which  it  entailed.  It  is  all  right  to  talk  of  war 
from  afar,  to  read  in  the  news  of  the  deaths  and 
other  casualties,  to  note  the  restrictions  in  living  and 
to  feel  for  the  sufferers;  but  it  is  quite  a  different 
thing  to  feel  the  oppressive  atmosphere  of  war,  to 
see  its  deadly  ravages  and  disabling  results,  to  become 
amenable  to  its  restrictions,  and  to  listen  to  the  words 
of  the  bereaved.  In  America,  although  nearly  all 
thought  that  they  were  carrying  a  great  part  of  the 
burden  of  the  war  in  every  sense,  in  reality  they  knew 
little  about  it,  nor  did  they  experience  the  anguish  and 
realize  its  meaning  until  their  own  men  had  paid  the 
great  price,  and  the  casualty  lists  had  appeared,  and 
the  ships  had  brought  home  to  their  shores  the  sick 
and   the   disabled.      "The   British   Empire   and   the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  19 

Allies,"  as  the  Archbishop  of  York  put  it  in  his  ser- 
mon on  board  ship,  "had  been  fighting  for  their  ex- 
istence for  four  years,  and  they  were  tired."  They 
were  tired,  but  not  discouraged;  they  were  suffering, 
but  not  desirous  of  ceasing  until  they  could  proclaim 
victory  to  the  world.  Among  all  the  returned  troops 
from  the  front,  the  wounded  and  the  disabled,  as  well 
as  the  whole,  with  whom  the  writer  talked  in  England 
and  Ireland,  he  never  met  one  who  did  not  desire  to 
return,  and  give  his  life  if  necessary  for  the  cause  of 
freedom.  In  traveling  from  Belfast  to  Enniskillen 
one  day  he  met  a  soldier  who  had  been  wounded  five 
times.  Three  times  he  had  been  on  leave  in  order  to 
recuperate,  and  three  times  he  had  returned  to  the 
front.  The  last  leave,  as  the  result  of  a  very  badly 
crushed  foot,  was  to  him  a  great  strain,  because  the 
doctor  had  informed  him  that  his  return  to  France 
was  not  probable.  "I'm  drawing  a  good  pension," 
said  he,  "but  I'd  give  it  all  for  another  day  in  the 
trenches.  It  isn't  fair  treatment,  to  keep  me  here." 
The  journey  from  Liverpool  to  Holyhead  and 
Kingstown  was  made  without  any  particular  incident, 
although  the  four  hours  spent  crossing  the  Irish  Sea 
were  rather  anxious  ones,  and  as  the  night  was  bright 
and  fine,  most  of  those  on  board  remained  on  deck 
holding  or  wearing  life  preservers.  Some  passengers, 
who  had  experienced  the  working  of  the  drastic  food 
laws  in  England,  were  surprised  to  find  such  a  won- 
derful display  of  meats  and  food  as  appeared  in  the 
dining-room  of  the  mail  boat  and  lost  no  time  in 


20 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

ordering  whatever  they  desired,  for  food  cards  were 
not  necessary  there. 

As  soon  as  Ireland  was  reached,  it  was  evident  that 
the  country  was  not  affected  by  the  war  in  the  same 
way  that  England  was.     In  Ireland,  men  were  to  be 
seen  everywhere;  strong,  young,  able-bodied  men — 
the  very  opposite  was  true  of  England.     In  Ireland, 
food  was  plentiful,  everything  offered  for  sale  as 
heretofore — except  sugar,  which  could  not  be  secured 
in  large  quantities,  as  each  one  was  supposed  to  have 
only  half-a-pound  per  week.     In  Ireland  the  people 
showed  every  sign   of   prosperity;   in  England  the 
people  seemed  impoverished.     In  Ireland  the  fairs, 
races,  market  days,  cattle  shows  and  horse  shows  were 
kept;  in  England  there  was  none  of  that.    It  is  true,  as 
appears  elsewhere,  that  many  in  Ireland  kept  the 
meatless  days  and  the  wheatless  days  with  England, 
and   abstained  from   pleasure-making,   and   worked 
hard  for  the  success  of  the  war;  but  a  vast  majority 
seemed  to  have  little  interest  in  the  war  beyond  buy- 
ing and  selling,  and  the  prosperity  it  brought  them. 
Judging  from  exterior  conditions,  and  forgetting  the 
war  for  a  moment,  it  seemed  as  if  England  and  Ire- 
land had  exchanged  conditions.     The  Ireland  of  by- 
gone years  was  certainly  a  pitiful  sight;  hungry,  cold 
and  naked,  with  little  hope  for  better  days,  and  strug- 
gling against  most  discouraging  forces.     The  houses, 
were,  generally  speaking,  of  the  poorest  order,  the 
lands  were  uncultivated  for  the  most  part,  and  un- 
cared  for,  the  cattle  and  horses  were  of  inferior 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 21 

breeds,  the  schools  were  few  and  far  between,  and  the 
landlords  were  very  punctilious  in  exacting  the  pound 
of  flesh.  The  Ireland  of  1918  presented  a  very  dif- 
ferent appearance;  a  greater  change  in  the  external 
conditions  of  any  people  has  never  taken  place  within 
thirty  years.  The  people  were  well  fed,  well  clothed, 
and  well  housed.  They  seemed  self-satisfied  and 
prosperous,  and  many  of  them  were  making  large 
sums  of  money  as  a  result  of  the  war.  Their  farms 
were  very  productive  and  well-cared  for,  their  cattle 
were  of  the  best  breeds,  and  their  houses  which  were 
generally  slated  were  comfortable  and  suitably  fur- 
nished. Labor  was  well  paid,  though  hard  to  secure; 
and  many  farmers  had  recently  become  owners  of 
the  land  for  which  they  had  paid  annual  rent  in  by- 
gone years.  Instead  of  using  the  old-time  means  of 
conveyance,  the  average  farmer  usually  drove  to 
town  in  a  pony  trap  or  carriage  of  some  sort.  Yes, 
Ireland  appeared  exceedingly  prosperous:  and  what 
wonder  if,  within  the  next  year  or  two,  the  stream  of 
immigration  shall  be  turned  in  that  direction.  No 
longer  can  the  aged  laborer  say  in  excuse  for  his 
poverty  in  Ireland,  as  one  stated  to  the  writer  some 
years  ago  when  asking  assistance,  "I've  spent  all  my 
time  working  my  life  out  to  keep  my  life  in."  Pros- 
perity is  not  peculiar  to  any  particular  part  of  Ire- 
land to-day,  but  characterizes  the  whole  land — North, 
South,  East  and  West. 


22  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


■r,   ^      ^ 


CHAPTER  II 
Early  Events  of  Great  Importance 

Ireland  invaded. — Folk-lore,  legend,  and  authentic  history. — 
Troubles  at  home. — Finn  MacCool. — Saint  Patrick,  and  other 
Saints  and  Missionaries. — Art  and  literature. — Classes  of 
society. — The  Brehon  Law. — The  Danish  invasion. — Malacki 
and  Brian. — Internal  strife. — Roderick  O'Connor,  Supreme 
King. 

HE  account  of  a  conversation  between  two 
Irishmen  in  New  York,  seems  to  have  a 
decided  moral  when  applied  to  Ireland. 
The  elder  brother,  who  had  been  in 
America  less  than  one  year,  when  asked  by  the 
younger  who  had  just  arrived  from  the  old  sod, 
"Pat,  how  do  you  like  this  country  of  yours?"  replied, 
"Well,  this  is  a  fine  country,  and  it  would  be  a  lot 
better  but  for  them  foreigners!"  Would  it?  Pat 
forgot  that  the  foreigners  had  for  many  years  been 
the  mainstay  of  his  adopted  land,  and  that  his  old 
country  had  done  much  toward  making  the  greatest 
democracy  of  the  world  what  it  is  to-day,  America 
is  a  land  of  foreigners,  invaders,  immigrants;  and 
in  this  respect  at  least  strongly  resembles  Ireland. 

Foreigners  have  made  America  what  it  is,  a  nation 
gathered  from  all  nations  in  the  world;  and  who  dare 
controvert  that,  foreigners  have  made  Ireland  what 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 


it  is.  We  know  something  of  the  ancient  people  o 
America,  some  of  whose  descendants  are  very  mud 
in  evidence  even  in  our  own  time;  but  of  the  ancien 
people  of  Ireland,  if  there  were  any,  before  the  day 
of  invasion  or  immigration  we  know  nothing.  We  d< 
know,  however,  that,  from  earliest  accounts,  Irelam 
has  been  an  attractive  land  to  many  nations,  and  tha 
expedition  after  expedition  has  arrived  at  her  shore 
set  upon  no  better  intent  than  to  invade,  to  plunder 
and  to  conquer.  Some  of  those  early  invaders  am 
their  descendants  no  doubt  survived  the  oppressioi 
and  tyranny  of  those  who  came  after  them  as  in 
vaders,  and  through  intermarriage  with  them  became 
an  integral  part  of  the  composite  body  known  as  tb 
Irish.  If  the  history  of  the  Roman  Empire  has  beei 
characterized  by  a  celebrated  historian  as  that  of  < 
"Decline  and  Fall,"  surely  it  will  not  seem  amiss  t( 
those  who  are  at  all  familiar  with  the  vicissitudes  o 
Irish  history  to  describe  it  as  the  history  of  "Foreigi 
Invasion  and  Internal  Strife." 

Like  most  ancient  nations,  Ireland  has  an  abun 
dance  of  folk-lore,  folk  songs  and  annals  which  keej 
alive  the  ancient  traditions  and  recall  the  grea 
achievements  of  the  past.  From  these  an  insight  ma^ 
be  had  into  the  early  life  and  customs  of  a  peopL 
who  are  so  different  from  all  others,  and  by  these  ai 
understanding  and  appreciation  may  be  obtained  o' 
the  characteristics  usually  evidenced  in  the  Irisl 
people. 

Legend  states  that  in  very  ancient  times  Irelanc 


24 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

was  invaded  or  colonized,  in  rather  rapid  succession, 
by  no  less  than  five  peoples.  Parthalon  of  Greece  led 
one  thousand  men  thither,  but  at  the  end  of  three  hun- 
dred years  a  plague  set  in  that  almost  wiped  out  their 
descendants.  Nemid  of  Scythia  also  came,  and  he 
too,  and  many  of  his  followers,  died  of  plague.  Next 
came  the  Firbolgs,  under  the  guidance  of  the  sons  of 
Dela,  who  divided  the  country  into  five  parts — Ulster, 
Leinster,  Connaught  and  the  two  Munsters.  The 
Dedannans,  who  came  next,  decided  to  stay,  and  so 
burned  their  ships.  No  sooner  had  they  landed  than 
they  set  out  to  conquer  the  Firbolgs,  who,  like  them- 
selves, had  come  from  Greece,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
four  days'  fight  won  a  victory  for  which  in  later  ages 
they  were  deified — and  became  the  Shee  or  fairies  so 
often  mentioned  in  Irish  story  and  song.  The  Mile- 
sians came  from  Scythia,  and,  after  spending  some 
time  in  Egypt  and  Europe,  set  sail  from  Spain;  but 
their  fleet  suff*ered  great  loss  as  the  result  of  violent 
storms  off  the  Irish  coast.  A  small  number  survived 
who  gave  battle  to  the  Dedannans,  and  after  securing 
victory  their  leaders  divided  Ireland  into  three  parts 
among  themselves. 

We  come  next  to  a  period  which  brings  in  what  the 
Annals  of  Tigemack  O'Breen  state  to  be  the  begin- 
ning of  authentic  Irish  history.  The  queen  of  the 
king  of  Ulster,  three  hundred  years  before  Christ, 
built  the  palace  of  Emain,  which  for  six  hundred 
years  remained  the  residence  of  the  kings  of  Ulster. 
The  place  where  this  palace  was  built  is  now  called 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 25 

Navan  Fort,  two  miles  west  of  Armagh.  Croghan  Fort, 
in  Roscommon,  which  also  antedates  Christianity,  was 
built  as  a  residence  of  the  kings  of  Gonnaught.  The 
discord  in  the  different  parts  of  Ireland  soon  became 
very  great,  and  the  leaders  of  the  Milesians  had  no 
small  trouble  in  keeping  the  descendants  of  those 
whom  they  had  overcome  in  subjection.  Tuathal,  who 
ruled  toward  the  end  of  the  first  century,  believed  that 
he  had  found  a  cure  for  all  trouble  and  disaffection 
among  the  people,  when  he  suggested  a  monarch  for 
all  Ireland,  and  proceeded  to  put  his  cure  into  effect 
by  cutting  a  little  off  from  each  of  the  existing  Prov- 
inces and  creating  from  these  parts  a  new  Province, 
the  Province  of  Meath,  which  should  become  the 
estate  of  the  Supreme  King  of  Ireland.  It  was  a 
grand  idea;  but  the  people  even  in  those  days  would 
not  stay  "put,"  and  very  soon  Ireland  was  divided 
into  two  parts.  A  natural  line  of  sandhills,  from 
Dublin  across  to  Galway,  was  decided  on  as  the  neu- 
tral ground  between  Conn,  the  king  of  the  Northern 
part,  and  Mow,  the  king  of  the  Southern  part. 

Cormac,  the  grandson  of  Conn,  king  of  Northern 
Ireland,  founded  colleges  for  military  science,  his- 
tory, literature  and  law.  In  his  time  the  Feena,  or 
Volunteers  as  we  would  call  them  today,  came  into 
prominence,  and  were  commanded  by  the  famous 
Finn  MacCool,  son-in-law  of  Cormac.  The  great 
deeds  of  Finn,  as  well  as  other  Bardic  Romances,  are 
set  forth  by  T.  W.  Rolleston,  in  his  book — The  High 
Deeds  of  Finn.    The  Feena  rebelled  in  the  next  reign, 


26^ THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

but  were  defeated  ignominiously.  Much  is  written 
of  the  Niall  or  Neill  family  from  the  end  of  the 
fourth  century  onward  in  Irish  history.  The  Scots 
of  Ireland  and  their  neighbors,  the  Picts  of  Scotland, 
whether  from  natural  propensity  or  desire  for  plun- 
der, were  often  in  those  days  found  on  marauding 
expeditions  to  Britain  and  Gaul,  and  were  greatly 
feared  by  the  natives  of  those  lands.  The  leader  of 
the  most  daring  of  these  invasions  was  Niall,  who, 
among  a  number  of  other  captives,  brought  St.  Pat- 
rick to  Ireland.  Niall,  however,  was  killed  while  on 
one  of  those  famous  invasions  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  Loire;  but  his  successor — Dathi — the  last  king 
of  pagan  Ireland,  carried  on  the  invasion  of  foreign 
lands  and  was  eventually  killed  by  lightning  near  the 
Alps. 

The  life  of  Saint  Patrick  is  generally  supposed  to 
have  influenced  the  religious  bent  of  the  people  of 
Ireland  only,  but  in  reality  his  influence  as  a  mis- 
sionary has  had  a  great  eff"ect  in  furthering  the  cause 
of  Christianity  in  almost  every  country.  Born  about 
the  year  387  of  Christian  parents,  and  reared  until 
he  attained  the  age  of  sixteen  in  religious  surround- 
ings, the  future  patron  Saint  of  Ireland  was  brought 
a  captive  to  Dalriada,  now  County  Antrim,  where  he 
spent  seven  years  as  a  bond  servant.  After  escaping 
from  captivity,  he  visited  Southern  Gaul,  came  under 
the  influence  of  St.  Martin  of  Tours,  and  studied  at 
Auxerre  and  Lerins.  About  the  year  432 — having 
spent  twenty  years  preparing  for  his  work,  and  after 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LiS.^,- 
CHESTNUT  HILL.  ,V,AS.: 

AND    A    WAY    OUT 27 

ordination  to  the  Diaconate — he  set  his  face  with 
twelve  companions  for  Ireland's  shore,  to  carry  on 
the  work  which  his  predecessor,  Falladius,  who 
had  been  sent  to  Ireland  by  Pope  Celestine,  had 
relinquished. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  the  religion  of  the 
Druids  had  been  long  taught  and  practised  in  Ireland, 
before  the  dawn  of  Christianity;  and  to  this  day  huge 
stone  altars  are  pointed  oat  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  on  which  the  Druids  offered  their  sacrifices. 
Caesar  stated  that,  "The  Druids  act  in  all  sacred 
matters;  they  attend  to  the  sacrifices  which  are  of- 
fered either  by  the  tribe  in  general  or  by  individuals, 
and  answer  all  questions  concerning  religion;  they 
decide  in  all  controversies,  whether  public  or  private, 
and  they  judge  all  cases.  They  assign  both  rewards 
and  punishments,  and  whoever  refuses  to  abide  by 
their  sentence  is  excommunicated.  They  are  exempt 
from  service  in  war,  and  from  the  payment  of  taxes; 
they  have  also  many  other  immunities."  In  their 
secret  teaching,  they  taught  belief  in  one  God,  but 
the  popular  teaching  included  a  number  of  gods,  and 
that  the  rivers,  lakes,  trees,  mountains  had  their  own 
divinities.  They  taught  the  immortality  of  the  soul; 
and  their  sacrifices  on  extraordinary  occasions  in- 
cluded human  beings.  Where  this  religion  originated 
we  do  not  know,  but  some  suppose  that  it  came  from 
India. 

In  Ireland  when  Saint  Patrick  took  up  his  work, 
which  extended  over  thirty-three  years,  Christianity 


28 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

was  known  to  the  people.  How  it  was  brought  there, 
whether  by  Apostles,  prisoners,  marauders  or  sol- 
diers, we  have  no  definite  information;  but  one  thing 
is  certain,  gatherings  of  Christians  had  been  estab- 
lished there  before  Saint  Patrick's  time.  Among  the 
people  of  Ireland  Saint  Patrick  moved  freely,  preach- 
ing, teaching,  and  establishing  churches  and  schools 
of  instruction.  His  ministry  was  phenomenally  suc- 
cessful; and  the  celerity  of  his  success  may  be 
accounted  for  in  part  that  he  appealed  first  to  the 
kings,  chiefs,  and  nobles.  Wherever  he  appeared  the 
people  crowded  around  to  hear  his  words;  and  while 
his  journey ings  were  not  always  pleasant  nor  his 
words  productive  of  the  results  he  sought,  yet  his 
career  as  a  missionary  left  a  stamp  on  Ireland  that 
never  can  be  effaced,  a  stamp  that  has  caused  the 
country  to  be  characterized  and  thought  of  as  "A 
country  of  saints  and  scholars."  Of  course,  the  work 
of  Saint  Patrick  did  not  reach  to  every  part  of  the 
field  of  his  labors;  but  most  of  the  country  testified 
to  his  zeal  and  success  through  converts,  missionaries 
and  churches,  when  on  the  17th  of  March,  465,  he 
departed  this  life.  His  death  brought  forth  the  deep- 
est sorrow  among  the  people,  who,  after  keeping  his 
obsequies  for  twelve  days  and  nights,  with  loving 
care  laid  his  body  to  rest  at  Dun-da-leth-glas,  the 
ancient  residence  of  the  Princess  Ulidia,  now  known 
as  Downpatrick. 

After  the  death  of  Saint  Patrick  the  work  to  which 
he  had  given  his  life  went  on  apace,  and  churches. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT _29 

monasteries  and  convents  were  soon  to  be  found 
throughout  Ireland.  Saint  Bridget  of  Kildare,  bom 
about  455,  became  an  ardent  missionary  early  in 
life.  Before  her  twenty-fifth  year  she  had  founded 
convents  in  many  parts  of  Ireland;  and,  eventually, 
she  built  her  cell,  the  beginning  of  a  famous  nunnery, 
under  a  great  oak  tree  from  which  the  ancient 
Cathedral  of  Kildare  received  its  name — Kill-dare, 
the  church  of  the  oak. 

Columba,  the  third  of  Ireland's  Patron  Saints,  was 
bom  in  521  of  a  noble  family  near  the  mountains  of 
Donegal,  and  at  an  early  age  was  sent  to  the  monastic 
school  of  Saint  Finian  of  Clonard,  where  he  evinced 
marked  ability  as  a  scholar;  and  after  his  ordination, 
he  gave  himself  up  heart  and  soul  to  the  work  of  the 
church.  In  the  year  546  he  built  Derry  Monastery, 
and  later  founded  numerous  churches  and  monas- 
teries throughout  the  country — including  Kells, 
Swords,  and  Durrow  in  King's  County.  About  the 
year  563 — -ninety-eight  years  after  the  death  of  Saint 
Patrick — he  went  on  a  mission  to  lona,  off  the  west 
coast  of  Scotland,  where  he  founded  the  famous  mon- 
astery of  that  name.  It  might  be  well  to  state  here, 
parenthetically,  that  about  sixty  years  before  a  chief- 
tain of  the  house  of  Ere,  of  the  Irish  Dalriado,  had 
crossed  over  to  the  coast  of  Argylesline  and  founded 
the  kingdom  of  Dalriada  or  Scotia  there;  and  thus 
the  name  Scotia  or  Scotland,  which  until  the  year 
1,000  belonged  to  Ireland,  was  first  applied  to  Scot- 
land and  gradually  appropriated  by  the  people  of 


30 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

that  land.  Among  the  Picts,  as  among  the  Irish, 
Saint  Columba's  ministry  was  most  successful,  and 
at  the  close  of  his  mission,  which  extended  from  sea 
to  sea,  many  churches  were  to  be  seen  testifying  to 
his  abundant  labors.  It  is,  however,  in  connection 
with  the  monastery  at  lona,  the  influence  of  which 
has  penetrated  into  all  the  world,  that  this  saint  is 
chiefly  thought  of.  The  rules  of  this  monastery  re- 
quired obedience,  humility,  and  chastity;  and  the 
day  was  spent  in  devotions,  reading,  writing  and  man- 
ual labor.  The  members  of  the  house  were  expert 
writers  and  illuminators,  and  at  this  time  the  Irish 
had  become  famous  in  calligraphy.  It  is  stated  that 
Saint  Columba  wrote  the  Book  of  Kells  and  the  Book 
of  Durrow,  so  well  known  for  their  beautiful  pen- 
manship and  artistic  ornamentation.  From  lona 
missionaries  went  to  the  English,  the  Germans,  the 
French,  the  Italians,  and  the  Swiss,  evangelizing  and 
planting  monasteries  and  churches  in  all  parts.  Irish- 
men became  not  only  patron  saints  in  their  own  land, 
but  also  in  almost  every  part  of  the  Continent.  Saint 
Aidan  of  Northumbria,  Saint  Fursa  of  Peronne,  Saint 
Dympna  of  Gheel,  Saint  Columbanus  of  Bibbio,  Saint 
Gall,  of  the  town  called  by  his  name.  Saint  Virgil  of 
Salisbury,  Saint  Fridolin  of  Seckingen,  Saint  Kilian 
of  Francolia  are  names,  revered  and  honored,  that 
bear  testimony  to  the  wide  scope  and  influence  of 
Irish  missionary  eff*ort.  To  the  schools  in  Ireland, 
which  were  accounted  the  most  learned  among  the 
people  of  Europe,  came  kings,  princes  and  others 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 31 

from  Northumbria,  France,  Britain,  Germany  and 
Egypt.  Mr.  Lecky  did  not  overstate  the  matter  when 
he  wrote  that,  "England  owed  a  great  deal  of  her 
Christianity  to  Irish  monks,"  for  the  record  of  the 
Council  of  Whitby,  held  in  664,  when  the  two 
branches  of  the  Church,  the  Celtic  and  the  Roman, 
each  with  its  different  customs,  but  holding  a  common 
faith  and  order,  met  and  squared  their  differences, 
is  abiding  testimony  to  the  labor  and  success  of  Irish 
missionaries  in  England. 

Everywhere  the  Irish  missionaries  went  they  estab- 
lished schools  in  which  were  taught  various  kinds  of 
art,  including  metal  work,  sculpture,  penmanship,  and 
building — in  which  Ireland  led.  The  ancient  art  of 
adorning  all  kinds  of  metal  was  carried  on  and  im- 
proved upon  up  to  the  time  of  the  Norman  invasion. 
Three  wonderful  specimens  of  the  excellence  of  that 
workmanship  are  the  Cross  of  Cong,  the  Ardagh 
Chalice,  and  the  Tara  Brooch,  to  be  seen  in  the 
National  Museum,  Dublin,  The  art  of  penmanship 
and  ornamentation  brought  to  the  highest  standard, 
may  be  seen  in  the  work  of  the  Book  of  Kells — so 
called  because  it  had  been  in  the  keeping  of  Kells  for 
many  centuries.  Although  one  capital  letter  covers 
almost  an  entire  page,  yet  a  magnifying  glass  is  neces- 
sary to  follow  the  delicate  intricacies  of  the  pattern. 
The  Book  of  Armagh,  another  piece  of  work  beauti- 
fully executed,  is,  together  with  the  Book  of  Kells, 
in  Trinity  College,  Dublin.  It  is  chiefly  written  in 
Latin,  and  contains  a  life  of  Saint  Patrick,  the  New 


32 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Testament,  Saint  Patrick's  Confession,  and  an  entry 
made  by  King  Brian  Boru  in  1004,  when  he  visited 
Armagh,  confirming  the  primacy  of  the  See  of 
Armagh. 

The  Round  Towers  of  Ireland  date  from  pre- 
Christian  times  and  have  a  beauty  all  their  own.  The 
quadrangular  churches  built  of  wood  and  also  of 
stone,  date  from  the  time  of  Saint  Patrick.  With  the 
coming  of  the  Normans,  new  ideas  in  building  were 
introduced,  and  the  Irish  lost  no  time  in  appropriat- 
ing the  best  designs.  Ruins  of  abbeys  throughout 
Ireland  today  testify  to  the  great  ability  and  skill  of 
those  who  erected  these  beautiful  buildings.  Many 
of  the  Celtic  crosses  that  remain  intact  are  beauti- 
fully ornamented,  and  some  depict  events  recorded 
in  sacred  history. 

From  the  time  of  Saint  Patrick,  the  Irish  people 
wrote  everything  concerning  their  history  and  time — 
that  appeared  to  them  of  importance.  These  records 
were  often  kept  in  monasteries  and  other  places  of 
learning,  and  must  have  amounted  to  a  large  and 
valuable  collection  before  the  Danish  and  Anglo- 
Norman  invasions,  when  many  of  these  valauble 
writings  were  either  destroyed  or  carried  out  of  the 
country.  In  the  museums  and  libraries  of  London 
and  Oxford,  as  well  as  in  Dublin,  may  be  found  some 
of  them.  The  Royal  Irish  Academy  has  the  oldest  of 
these  writings,  the  Lebar-na-heera,  which  contains  a 
number  of  prose  tales,  and  an  elegy  on  Saint  Colum- 
kille,  composed  by  Dalian  Fogaill  about  592.     The 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 33 

Book  of  Leinster,  written  in  1160,  is  in  Trinity  Col- 
lege, and  contains  one  thousand  items  of  prose,  poetry 
and  historical  accounts.  Other  interesting  books  in 
Ireland  are  the  Book  of  Ballymote,  written  in  1391, 
in  which,  among  other  things,  is  a  copy  of  the  book  of 
"Invasions"  of  Ireland;  the  Book  of  Lecan,  written 
at  Lecan,  County  Sligo,  about  1390,  is  also  in  the 
keeping  of  Trinity  College. 

The  annals,  histories  and  genealogies  of  Ireland 
are  extremely  interesting.  Among  the  annals  may  be 
recorded  the  Annals  of  Innisfallen,  compiled  about 
1215;  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  compiled  1498;  the  An- 
nals of  Connaught,  compiled  in  1224;  Chronicle  of 
the  Scots,  compiled  in  1135,  and  the  Annals  of  the 
Four  Masters,  compiled  in  1132.  The  first  history  of 
Ireland  was  written  in  the  seventeenth  century  as  the 
Forus  Feasa  Erin,  by  Dr.  Geoffrey  Keating.  Many  of 
the  genealogies  of  the  principal  families  in  Ireland 
are  preserved  in  the  books  of  Leinster,  Lecan,  and 
Ballymote.  A  book  of  genealogies  was  compiled  be- 
tween 1650  and  1666  by  Duald  MacFirbis. 

The  people  of  Ireland  have  ever  been  noted  for 
their  fondness  of  music.  From  monastery  and  con- 
vent, from  school  and  college,  from  the  humblest 
home  as  well  as  from  the  king's  residence,  the  strains 
of  music  went  forth  in  every  age.  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis  bore  testimony  to  the  harper's  skill  in  these 
words:  "They  are  incomparably  more  skillful  than 
any  other  nation  I  have  ever  seen.  For  their  manner 
of  playing  on  these  instruments,  unlike  that  of  the 


34 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Britons  to  which  I  am  accustomed  is  not  slow  and 
harsh,  but  lively  and  rapid,  while  the  melody  is  both 
sweet  and  sprightly."  In  foreign  lands  Irish  music 
teachers  were  often  found;  and  the  fame  of  Saint 
Gall's,  as  a  conservatory  of  music  in  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, was  due  to  the  able  teaching  of  the  Irishman 
Marcellus. 

From  the  earliest  times  the  inhabitants  of  Ireland 
were  divided  into  five  classes— kings,  nobles,  free- 
men with  property,  freemen  without  property,  and  the 
others,  who  were  again  divided  into  various  sections. 
The  first  group  included  the  family  proper;  the  next 
group,  the  Sept,  which  included  relatives;  the  next 
group,  the  Clan,  included  those  who  were  descended 
from  one  ancestor;  and  the  other  group,  the  Tribe, 
included  those  of  separate  Clans  or  Septs.  These 
were  governed  by  chiefs.  Then  there  came  sub- 
kingdoms,  then  there  were  the  five  provinces,  ruled 
by  five  kings,  and  finally  one  kingdom,  ruled  by  the 
Ardi  or  supreme  king. 

Ireland,  so  well  organized,  was  not  without  her  law 
and  judges.  The  judges  were  called  Brehons  and 
the  law  the  Brehon  Law.  These  judges  were  learned 
men,  and  took  great  pains  to  administer  their  office 
faithfully.  If  a  Brehon  delivered  an  unfair  judg- 
ment he  was  open  to  punishment,  and  for  this  reason, 
also,  he  was  usually  anxious  to  give  fair  and  impar- 
tial judgments.  The  laws  by  which  judgment  was 
meted  out  were  preserved  in  volumes.  Two  of  these 
volumes  are  of  special  interest:    the  Senchus  Mor, 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  35 

covering  civil  law,  and  the  Book  of  Acaill,  covering 
criminal  law  and  personal  injuries.  Through  the  in- 
terest of  Saint  Patrick,  King  Laeghaire  had  a  com- 
mittee of  nine  distinguished  persons  revise  the  laws 
of  Ireland. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  Danish  invasion  early 
in  the  ninth  century  until  the  famous  battle  of  Clon- 
tarf  on  Good  Friday,  April  23,  1014,  the  whole  of 
Ireland  was  in  a  constant  state  of  turmoil  and  war — 
with  only  two  exceptions  of  forty-year  periods.  Nat- 
urally, the  high  state  of  civilization  and  order  hitherto 
reached  suffered  greatly,  and  the  whole  island  be- 
came, in  the  language  of  the  Four  Masters,  "a  trem- 
bling sod."  The  monasteries,  convents,  schools,  col- 
leges and  churches,  as  well  as  the  petty  kingdoms 
fell  from  the  high  state  of  efficiency  which  they  had 
attained;  and  through  plunder,  disorder  and  strife 
lost  much  of  their  ancient  heritage. 

The  Danes,  a  name  generally  accorded  to  the 
people  of  the  northwestern  districts  of  Europe,  first 
appeared  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Ireland  as  plun- 
derers, but  after  some  expeditions  of  this  kind  came 
in  larger  bodies,  with  the  intention  of  staying,  and 
so  reached  farther  into  the  country,  plundering  and 
destroying  everything  that  came  in  their  way.  Under 
their  leader,  Turgesius,  they  organized  a  fleet  and 
went  northward,  entering  Lough  Neagh  and  Lough 
Ree,  and  eventually  occupied  Armagh,  Leinster  and 
Connaught. 

The  Irish  failure  in  dealing  with  these^  in  quick 


36 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

time  and  definitely,  was  due  in  a  large  measure  to 
their  characteristic  difficulty — lack  of  unity  and 
effort — and,  although  the  Irish  chiefs  and  others  made 
sporadic  attempts  to  curtail  the  movements  and  power 
of  these  enemies,  little  success  attended  them. 
Malacki  I.  and  his  son  arrested  the  course  of  that 
foreign  invasion  for  forty  years;  but  during  this 
period  the  Irish  turned  their  attention  and  strength 
to  wars  among  themselves.  Neill  Glunduff,  Flann's 
successor,  Donagh  Plann's  son,  and  Murkertagh,  son 
of  Neill  Glunduff — of  Leathercoat  fame — harassed 
the  Danes  from  time  to  time;  but  Malacki  II,  who 
became  king  in  980,  won  the  greatest  victory  over 
them  at  Tara  and  Dublin  and  carried  off  some  valu- 
able Danish  treasure.  It  was  of  him  that  Moore  wrote, 
"When  Malacki  wore  the  collar  of  gold  that  he  won 
from  her  proud  invader."  Mahon,  king  of  Thomond, 
and  his  brother  Brian  carried  on  a  guerrilla  warfare 
against  the  invaders.  By  way  of  reprisal,  Ivar,  king 
of  the  Southern  Danes,  aided  by  two  Irish  kings, 
Molloy  of  Desmond  and  Donovan  of  Hy  Carbery, 
marched  on  Thomond,  but  the  Dalcassian  chiefs  and 
Mahon  soon  overcame  them.  In  another  war  of  this 
kind  Mahon  was  slain,  and  his  brother  Brian  became 
king  in  his  stead.  Brian  now  waged  a  war  of  retri- 
bution, and  after  destroying  the  allied  enemy, 
referred  to  above,  became  king  of  all  Munster. 

Brian's  success  in  overcoming  his  enemies  and  ex- 
tending his  territory  and  sway  soon  aroused  the 
jealousy  of  the  King  of  Ireland,  Malacki,  and  after  a 


AND     A    WAY    OUT 37 

peace  agreement,  which  entailed  the  dividing  of  Ire- 
land between  them,  Malacki  became  king  of  Leth 
Conn,  and  Brian  king  of  Leth  Mow.  After  a  revolt 
of  Mailmora,  king  of  Leinster,  and  his  subsequent 
defeat,  Brian  decided  to  treat  the  solemn  agreement 
with  Malacki  as  a  "scrap  of  paper,"  and  began  to 
make  an  alliance  with  the  old  enemy  in  order  to  make 
sure  of  his  success.  His  matrimonial  alliances  must 
be  interesting  to  men  today — in  view  of  later  history. 
He  married  Gormlaith,  mother  of  Sitric,  king  of  the 
Dublin  Danes,  sister  of  the  king  of  Leinster,  and  gave 
his  own  daughter  to  Sitric  as  his  wife.  Malacki's 
land  was  soon  invaded;  he  made  peace,  and  returned 
to  his  old  kingdom  Meath,  after  which  the  land  had 
comparative  peace  for  forty  years. 

The  Danes,  however,  were  not  satisfied  and  were 
watching  for  an  opportunity  to  assert  themselves  and 
gain  if  possible  the  sovereignty  of  Ireland.  At  length 
the  chance  came,  when  Malimora,  king  of  Leinster, 
decided  to  be  avenged  of  Brian,  who  had  recently  dis- 
carded his  sister  Gormlaith,  and  brought  together  as 
allies  O'Neill,  king  of  Ulster,  O'Ruarc,  prince  of 
Brefney,  and  leaders  from  Carbery,  Kildare.  These 
first  attacked  Malacki,  who  was  not  able  to  resist 
them,  and  he  called  Brian  to  help  him.  Brian  and 
his  son  responded,  and  moved  to  Kilmainham  to 
besiege  Dublin,  but  the  effort  failed. 

The  Danes  now  decided  to  push  the  test;  and  Gorm- 
laith directed  her  son  Sitric  to  look  for  aid  abroad. 
He  visited  the  Orkneys  and  the  Isle  of  Man  and  re- 


38 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

ceived  the  aid  he  required;  and  from  the  Hebrides, 
Shetlands,  France,  Germany  and  Scandinavia  sailed 
shiploads  of  warriors  for  Dublin  Bay.  Brian,  mus- 
tering his  forces  on  March  17th  and  moving  to  Kil- 
mainham,  set  fire  to  the  Danish  districts  along  the 
coast.  News  that  the  enemy  intended  to  attack  on 
Good  Friday  was  very  unsavory  to  Brian,  owing  to 
the  holy  associations  attaching  to  the  day,  yet  he 
got  his  men  together,  who  numbered  about  twenty 
thousand — as  many  as  the  enemy  had  in  line — and 
the  battle  was  begun.  The  fight  was  a  hand-to-hand 
affair  and  lasted  all  day,  during  which  Brian's  son 
Murrogh  was  chief  in  command  and  remained  in  the 
thick  of  the  battle  with  his  men.  Toward  evening  the 
Danes  saw  that  they  had  lost,  and  ran  from  the  battle 
pursued  by  the  Irish,  and  greatly  helped  by  Malacki's 
men,  who  cut  off  their  retreat.  The  Irish  won  the 
battle,  which  cost  them  many  lives,  especially  those 
of  King  Brian,  his  son  Murrogh  and  his  son  Turlogh. 
After  that  day  of  victory  and  sorrow,  Malacki  became 
the  unquestioned  king  of  the  Irish — which  position  he 
held  until  his  death  in  1022. 

After  the  battle  of  Clontarf  and  the  victory  over 
the  foreign  foe,  the  Irish  were  once  more  in  a  posi- 
tion to  carry  on  war  among  themselves;  and  from  this 
time  to  the  Anglo-Norman  invasion  the  country  was 
in  a  state  of  disorder  owing  to  the  aspirations  of  dif- 
ferent kings  to  become  the  supreme  rulers  of  Ireland. 
The  long  drawn  out  struggle  of  the  kings,  "with  op- 
position,"  Donogh,  Turlogh  O'Brien,   Demot  Mac- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 39 

Mailnamo,  Murkertagh  O'Brien,  Donall  O'Loghlin, 
Turlogh  O'Connor,  Murkertagh  O'Loghlin  and 
Roderick  O'Connor,  was  at  length  brought  to  a  close 
when  O'Connor  acknowledged  O'Loghlin's  supremacy 
and  sent  him  hostages.  O'Loghlin  soon  died,  how- 
ever, and  Roderick  O'Connor  became  the  king  of  all 
Ireland. 


40  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


CHAPTER    III 
Later  Invasion  and  Rebellion 

Dermot  MacMurragh  and  his  Foreign  Allies.— Archbishop 
OToole,  the  peacemaker.— Heni-y  II.  distributes  Ireland 
among  his  followers. — King  Richard.— King  John  and  the 
Irish  factions.— The  "English  Pale."— The  Bruccs  in 
Ireland.— "Statute  of  Kilkenny."— Richard  II.  tries  to  stop 
rebellion.— Parliament,  1449,  and  1466.— The  Imposter 
Simnel  and  German  aid. — "Poyning's  Law." — Policy  of 
Henry  VIII.— Edward  VI.— Mary  and  Elizabeth.— The 
Geraldine  Rebellion. — Foreign  expeditions. — Desmond  de- 
spoiled.— Rebellion  under  Hugh  O'Neill,  assisted  by  Spain. — 
Lord  Mount  joy's  Victory.— The  Plantation  of  Ulster.— Charles 
I.  and  Wentworth.— The  Rebellion  of  1641. — Royalist  Ire- 
land and  Cromwell— James  II.  and  William  of  Orange.— 
Repeal  of  all  offensive  laws  by  James. — James  defeated  at 
Old  Bridge. — Repressive  Laws. — Laws  injurious  to  Irish 
trade. 

HE  Danish  invasion  left  Ireland  in  a  state 
of  disorder  and  ruin;  and  when  the  Nor- 
mans came  little  was  attempted  toward 
a  real  restoration,  although  that  was 
supposedly  the  cause  of  the  projected  crusade 
when  Henry  II.  secured  the  famous  Bull  of  au- 
thority from  Pope  Hadrian  IV.  in  1155.  In  those 
days  it  was  thought  by  many  that  all  islands  belonged 
to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Pope;  and,  in  view  of  this, 
Henry  forwarded  a  plea  to  Pope  Hadrian  for 
authority  to  go  to  Ireland  "to  enlarge  the  bounds  of 
the  Church,  and  to  restrain  the  progress  of  vices,  to 
correct  the  manners  of  the  people  and  to  plant  virtue 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 41 

among  them,  and  to  increase  the  Christian  religion. 
To  subject  the  people  to  laws,  to  extirpate  vicious  cus- 
toms, to  respect  the  rights  of  the  native  churches,  and 
to  enforce  the  payment  of  Peter's  pence."  This 
request  was  approved  by  the  Pope,  as  coming  from 
one  moved  by  "the  ardour  of  faith  and  love  of  re- 
ligion;" but  Henry,  however,  did  not  carry  out  his 
projected  crusade  for  some  time.  After  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years,  the  occasion  for  active  interest  presented 
itself  when  Dermot  MacMurragh,  who  had  stolen  the 
wife  of  the  prince  of  Brefney,  Tiernan  O'Rourc,  and 
had  consequently  brought  O'Rourc  and  a  large  motley 
army  to  fight  against  him  in  Leinster,  crossed  the  sea 
for  aid,  and  offered  to  place  himself  and  his  kingdom 
under  Henry's  rule.  To  this  proposition  Henry 
agreed,  and  advised  Dermot  to  go  through  England 
and  France  for  supporters.  In  Bristol,  Richard  de 
Clare,  Earl  of  Pembroke,  later  known  as  Strongbow, 
agreed  to  be  one  of  the  supporters  provided  Dermot 
gave  him  his  daughter  Eva  in  marriage,  and  that  he 
should  succeed  him  as  king.  In  Saint  Davids,  Wales, 
Maurace  Fitzgerald  and  Robert  Fitzstephen  promised 
assistance — receiving  in  due  time  Wexford  and  the 
adjoining  districts  as  a  consideration.  With  a  large 
allied  force  Dermot  attacked  at  Wexford,  Waterford 
and  Ossory,  and  thus  aroused  the  interest  of  Roderick 
O'Connor  to  activity  in  defence  of  his  territory.  A 
peace  conference  took  place,  and  a  secret  treaty  was 
made  between  Dermot  and  Roderick  to  the  eifect  that 
the  foreigners  should  be  sent  home,  and  none  brought 


42 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

in  the  future.  As  the  agreement  between  Brian  and 
Malacki  was  treated  as  a  "scrap  of  paper,"  so  was 
this,  alas,  for  Dermot  set  out  almost  immediately  to 
become  the  king  of  Ireland,  and  sent  to  Strongbow 
to  fulfil  his  promise.  Strongbow  sent  Raymond  Fitz- 
gerald— Raymond  le  Gros — with  eight  hundred  men 
and  came  himself  later  with  three  thousand  to  Water- 
ford,  where  havoc  characterized  their  work.  They 
then  marched  to  Dublin,  where  king  Hasculf  had 
rebelled.  Through  Archbishop  Laurence  O'Toole 
peace  was  arranged,  and  Hasculf  and  many  of  his 
men  fled  the  country  leaving  Dermot  and  Strongbow 
in  possession.  In  the  next  year,  1171,  Dermot  died, 
and  Strongbow  became  king  of  Leinster.  Hasculf 
MacTurkill  returned,  and  with  a  great  many  Danes 
besieged  Dublin;  but  he  was  defeated.  After  this 
Archbishop  O'Toole  tried  to  unite  the  people  of  Ire- 
land against  their  enemies,  who  had  again  entrenched 
themselves  in  Dublin.  At  this  juncture  Henry,  who 
had  become  jealous  of  Strongbow,  came  to  Ireland 
with  ten  thousand  men,  and  the  Irish  kings,  with  few 
exceptions,  hastened  to  submit  to  him,  as  did  most  of 
the  princes.  Roderick  O'Connor  also  submitted, 
although  he  did  not  appear:  but  O'Neill  of  Ulster 
neither  came  nor  sent  his  submission. 

Henry,  after  holding  court  in  Dublin,  began  to 
distribute  Ireland  to  his  followers.  Leinster  was 
given  to  Strongbow,  Meath  to  Hugh  de  Lacy,  Ulster 
to  John  de  Courcy,  and  Dublin  to  the  people  of  Bris- 
tol, with  de  Lacy  as  governor — the  first  Viceroy  of 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 43 

Ireland — after  which  he  returned  to  England.  In  the 
next  year  Strongbow  became  viceroy,  a  very  difficult 
position  to  fill,  owing  to  rebellions  and  raids  among 
the  Irish,  the  English  and  the  Danes. 

Roderick  O'Connor  now  found  his  position  hard 
to  maintain,  and,  so,  sent  to  Henry  for  protection. 
By  the  treaty  of  Windsor,  1175,  Roderick  became 
king  of  Connaught  and  vassal  of  Henry,  and  was  also 
appointed  to  rule  the  rest  of  Ireland,  except  the  Eng- 
lish colony,  and  compel  the  kings  and  chiefs  to  pay 
tribute  to  Henry.  Prince  John  was  sent  over  with 
the  intention  of  his  becoming  "Lord  of  Ireland;"  but 
as  a  lad  of  nineteen,  full  of  pranks,  he  gave  offence 
to  the  Irish  princes  and  chiefs  and  soon  had  the  whole 
country  in  the  wildest  disorder,  after  which  he  was 
recalled  to  England,  and  de  Courcy  was  appointed 
viceroy. 

After  the  death  of  Henry,  his  son  Richard  became 
king;  and  he  intrusted  the  affairs  of  Ireland  to  the 
care  of  his  brother  John,  who  appointed  de  Lacy 
Viceroy  in  place  of  de  Courcy.  The  wars  among  the 
kings  and  chiefs  continued  unabated;  and  it  was  dur- 
ing this  time  that  the  chief  Cahal  Crouderg  won  his 
right  to  the  kingdom  of  Connaught  after  subduing 
Cahal  Carrach,  his  rival. 

In  1199  John  succeeded  to  the  English  throne,  and 
found  Ireland  if  possible  more  disturbed  than  ever. 
Alliances  of  all  kinds  were  formed  among  the  kings 
and  princes  from  time  to  time  in  order  to  attain  their 
ends,  and  in  these  alliances  the  people  of  the  English 


44 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Colony  figured,  too,  with  a  result  that  the  confusion  of 
the  country  became  more  confounded.  The  people 
of  the  English  towns  were  adopting  the  customs  of 
their  neighbours;  the  nobles  were  becoming  insub- 
ordinate and  establishing  themselves  as  independent 
rulers;  and  anarchy  was  becoming  the  established 
rule  everywhere.  When  King  John  visited  Ireland, 
the  insubordinate  barons  fled,  and  Cabal  Crouderg 
appeared  before  him  and  made  his  submission. 

The  part  of  Ireland  that  had  been  chiefly  occupied 
by  the  English  was  divided  into  twelve  counties — 
Dublin,  Kildare,  Meath,  Louth,  Carlow,  Kilkenny, 
Wexford,  Waterford,  Cork,  Kerry,  Limerick,  Tip- 
perary — and  these  districts  became  known  as  the 
"English  Pale,"  where  English  law  was  established. 
The  establishment  of  the  "Pale"  divided  Ireland  into 
two  parts,  each  part  was  subject  to  a  diff'erent  code  of 
laws  and  customs;  and  the  people  of  each  part  hated 
those  of  the  other. 

After  Robert  Bruce's  success  at  Bannockbum,  the 
Irish  invited  him  to  send  his  brother  over  as  their 
king,  to  which  he  responded  by  sending  Edward  Bruce 
v/ith  six  thousand  Scotchmen  to  Larne.  Donall 
O'Neill  of  Ulster  joined  forces  with  them,  and  soon 
the  North  of  Ireland  was  under  the  sway  of  the  sword. 
Cruelty,  disorder,  murder,  famine  accompanied  this 
eff^ort  to  cast  the  English  out.  Robert  Bruce  with  an 
army  of  twenty  thousand  joined  in  the  eff'ort  to  sub- 
jugate the  people  of  the  Pale,  but  returned  to  Scotland 
the  next  year.     In  1318  Edward  Bruce  made  his  last 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 45 

attempt  to  secure  victory,  but  in  the  battle  of  Dundalk, 
with  the  opposing  forces  under  Sir  John  Bermingham, 
he  was  defeated  and  slain.  Although  the  Bruces 
were  defeated  and  the  object  they  sought  unattained, 
yet  the  results  of  their  expedition  changed  the  com- 
plexion of  Ireland.  Ulster  was  practically  restored 
to  the  old  order,  and  clans  and  chiefs  again  came  into 
possession  of  the  land:  the  English  people  became 
more  and  more  one  with  the  people  around  them, 
even  adopting  their  dress,  language  and  names,  and, 
as  a  result,  have  been  described  as  "more  Irish  than 
the  Irish  themselves." 

When  Edward  III.  succeeded  his  father  in  1327, 
the  outlook  was  very  discouraging  in  Ireland,  espe- 
cially owing  to  the  defections  of  the  English  there 
and  their  feuds  among  themselves.  The  "black 
death"  wrought  great  havoc  in  Ireland,  as  well  as  in 
other  places,  and  greatly  added  to  the  misery  and 
suffering  of  the  people.  Edward  adopted  a  new 
method  to  save  the  English  from  losing  their  identity 
in  Ireland,  by  passing  the  famous  Statute  of  Kilkenny, 
which  prohibited  the  English  from  using  the  Irish 
language  or  adopting  Irish  names.  It  also  inveighed 
against  the  use  of  the  Brehon  Law  or  customs;  mar- 
riage between  English  and  Irish;  and  the  adoption  of 
English  children  by  Irish  foster-fathers.  These  pro- 
visions were  soon  lost  sight  of;  the  two  races  con- 
tinued to  fuse  into  one;  and  many  of  the  lords  of  the 
Pale  disclaimed  allegiance  to  their  old  country. 

King  Richard  II.  visited  Ireland  in  1394  with  a 


46 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

force  of  thirty-four  thousand  men,  with  the  intention 
of  settling  the  question  of  rebellion  for  all  time.  He 
received  the  submission  of  seventy-five  chiefs  and  the 
four  provincial  kings,  whom  he  knighted — O'Neill  of 
Ulster,  O'Connor  of  Connaught,  MacMurrogh  of 
Leinster  and  O'Brien  of  Thomond.  This  submission 
amounted  to  nothing,  for  no  sooner  had  the  king  left 
Ireland  than  the  old  order  of  war  and  destruction  was 
resumed.  During  the  reigns  of  Henry  V.  and  Henry 
VI.  the  same  disorder  continued;  and  a  miniature  war 
of  the  roses  was  carried  on  by  the  Butlers  and  the  Tal- 
bots.  While  Richard,  Duke  of  York,  was  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, the  Parliament  asserted  their  independence — 
1449 — that  they  were  independent  of  other  laws  than 
those  made  in  Ireland,  and  were  entitled  to  a  separate 
coinage.  During  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  while  the 
English  were  occupied  in  attending  to  domestic  mat- 
ters, and  while  leaders  of  the  Pale  were  attacking  one 
another,  the  Irish  attacked  the  settlers  and  took  away 
much  of  the  old  Pale,  leaving  only  Louth,  Dublin, 
Meath  and  Kildare.  Thomas,  the  great  Earl  of  Des- 
mond, was  appointed  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland  upon 
Henry  IV.'s  accession,  and  in  a  short  time  became 
extremely  popular  with  all  parties.  He  founded 
Youghal  College  and  Drogheda  University.  The 
Irish  Parliament  in  1465  decreed  that  all  Irishmen 
in  the  Pale  were  to  dress  and  shave  like  the  English, 
and  take  English  surnames. 

After  Henry  VII.  came  to  the  throne,  he  was  called 
upon  to  deal  with  the  imposter  Lambert  Simnel,  who 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 47 

posed  as  the  Yorkish  Prince  Edward,  and  as  such  was 
received  by  the  Irish — except  Waterford,  which  re- 
tained its  loyalty  and  thus  earned  the  title,  "untar- 
nished city."  Two  thousand  Germans  arrived  to  sup- 
port Simnel;  but  the  effort  was  frustrated  and 
"Edward  IV."  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  England. 
Other  "plots"  reached  the  king's  ears,  and  he  sent 
Sir  Edward  Poynings  to  Ireland  to  take  charge  of  the 
situation.  He  convened  parliament  in  Drogheda  in 
1494,  when  the  famous  "Poynings  Law"  was  passed. 
This  law  provided  that  no  Parliament  should  be  called 
in  Ireland  until  the  king  and  Privy  Council  in  Eng- 
land had  passed  upon  the  reasons  for  the  call,  and 
considered  the  proposed  laws ;  and  that  all  the  English 
laws  affecting  the  public  weal  should  hold  good  in  Ire- 
land. At  this  time  the  Earl  of  Kildare  was  arrested 
for  treason  and  sent  to  prison ;  but  during  his  trial  he 
displayed  such  peculiar  skill  that  the  king  had  to 
laugh  heartily;  and,  when  informed  that  "All  Ireland 
cannot  rule  this  man,"  replied,  "Then  if  all  Ireland 
cannot  rule  him,  he  shall  rule  all  Ireland,"  and  so  the 
great  Earl — Garret  or  Gerald  Fitzgerald — was  made 
Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland. 

Henry  the  VII.  seemed  determined  to  rule  Ireland 
with  a  firm  hand;  and  he  employed  at  various  times 
Garret  Oge  of  Kildare,  Thomas  Howard,  Earl  of 
Surrey,  and  Sir  William  Skeffington  to  carry  out  his 
purpose.  Later  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  Lord 
Thomas  Fitzgerald,  Silken  Thomas,  upon  hearing  a 
report  that  his  father  had  been  beheaded  in  1534,  re- 


48 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

signed  as  Lord  Deputy,  and  caused  a  rebellion,  during 
which  Archbishop  Allen  of  Dublin  was  slain  and 
much  devastation  occurred.  Under  the  new  Lord 
Deputy  and  Lord  Leonard  Grey,  Marshal  of  Ireland, 
the  uprising  was  quelled;  Maynooth  was  battered 
down;  and  Silken  Thomas  was  sent  to  the  Tower. 
Through  the  fall  of  the  Fitzgeralds,  and  the  skill  of 
Henry's  representatives,  including  Cromwell,  the 
power  of  Engand,  which  had  almost  been  effaced, 
was  again  stretched  over  Ireland,  and  Henry  decided 
to  have  the  English  Law  respected  and  enforced.  The 
Brehon  Law,  which  obtained  from  the  earliest  times, 
and  included  a  system  of  clan  rule  and  common 
tenure  of  land  by  the  tribe,  was  not  appreciated  by 
the  newcomers,  who  decided  to  make  "Ireland  Eng- 
lish" in  custom,  language  and  law.  In  1536  a  parlia- 
ment in  Dublin  decreed  the  king  to  be  the  Supreme 
Spiritual  Head  of  the  Church:  and  nearly  all  the 
monasteries  were  suppressed,  and  their  property  and 
lands  taken  by  the  Crown.  Sir  Anthony  Sentleger 
was  Lord  Deputy  about  1540,  and  he  influenced  the 
king  to  adopt,  instead  of  the  iron  rule,  conciliatory 
measures  in  dealing  with  the  chiefs  and  people.  The 
chiefs  were  thus  won  over,  and  acknowledged  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  authority  of  Henry,  upon 
whom  the  Irish  Parliament  in  1541  conferred  the 
title,  "King  of  Ireland." 

The  Church  in  Ireland  up>  to  the  middle  of  the 
twelfth  century  had  been  one,  and  entirely  autono- 
mous; but  after  Henry's  men  had  established  them- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT ^ 

selves,  there  were  two  churches,  that  of  the  Pale  and 
the  ancient  Irish  Church.  There  were  no  differences, 
however,  between  these  in  either  doctrine  or  disci- 
pline; but  the  Pale  was  under  the  care  of  English 
clergy,  and  the  remainder  of  Ireland  was  under  the 
care  of  Irish  clergy.  It  is  true  that  the  religious  life 
of  the  country  suffered  greatly  through  the  many 
wars  and  difficulties  that  had  kept  it  in  constant  tur- 
moil, and  that  the  outlook  must  have  been  extremely 
discouraging  in  1525,  when  it  was  stated,  "if  the 
king  do  not  provide  a  remedy,  there  will  be  no  more 
Christianity  than  in  the  middle  of  Turkey."  Henry, 
who  had  had  a  fair  theological  training,  for  it  was 
intended  at  one  tme  that  he  should  become  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  and  had  distinguished  himself  in 
writing  a  book  against  Lutheranism  for  which  the 
Pope  conferred  on  him  the  title,  "Defender  of  the 
Faith,"  set  to  work  to  deal  with  the  situation  by  re- 
nouncing the  authority  of  the  Pope  and  declaring 
himself  as  the  "Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  under  Christ."  To  this  the  people 
generally  seem.ed  indifferent,  but  Archbishop  Browne 
of  Dublin,  with  other  bishops  and  many  of  the  clergy 
gave  their  assent,  while  Primate  Cromer  of  Armagh 
and  some  of  the  clergy  and  the  native  chieftains 
opposed  the  new  order.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  VI. 
a  Prayer  Book  in  English  was  foisted  on  the  Irish 
people,  against  the  protests  of  Primate  Dowdall, 
Archbishop  Cromer's  successor  in-  Armagh,  who  left 
the  Convocation  saying,  "Now  shall  every  illiterate 


50 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

fellow  read  mass,"  which  became,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  cause  of  general  strife,  and  on  the  other  hand,  an 
instrument  in  uniting  Ireland,  as  nothing  else  had 
done,  against  English  rule.  Archbishop  Browne  had 
written  years  before  to  Cromwell,  the  English  Vicar 
General,  "both  English  and  Irish  begin  to  oppose 
your  Lordship's  orders  and  to  lay  aside  their  national 
old  quarrels,"  words  prophetic  of  the  present  state. 
When  Mary  came  to  the  throne,  she  deprived  Arch- 
bishop Browne  of  his  See,  as  well  as  Bishop  Bale  of 
Ossory  and  other  bishops  who  had  espoused  and 
furthered  the  new  order,  and  had  the  old  order  re- 
established. As  soon  as  Elizabeth  became  queen  she 
reversed  the  acts  of  her  predecessor  and  re-established 
the  Act  of  Uniformity,  requiring  the  use  of  the  Eng- 
lish Book  of  Common  Prayer  and  attendance  at  the 
service  where  this  book  was  used.  The  Plantation  of 
Ulster  at  a  later  date  greatly  added  to  the  religious 
troubles  of  Ireland,  as  many  of  the  settlers  were 
Scotch  Presbyterians  and  English  Puritans;  and  when 
Stafford  was  Lord  Deputy  not  the  least  of  his  labor 
was  directed  toward  a  solution  of  these  difficulties. 
The  Irish  Rebellion  of  1641,  which  tried  to  cast  out 
the  English  and  restore  the  old  order  of  worship, 
resulted  in  the  prohibition  of  the  new  Service  Book 
and  the  establishment  of  the  Puritan  Directory  and 
Independent  preachers. 

During  the  reign  of  Edward  VI.  civil  strife  again 
broke  out  in  Ireland,  and  Edward  Bellingham  was 
sent  over  with  an  army  to  restore  order,  which  he 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 51 

did,  and  added  Leix  and  OfFaly  to  the  Pale.  Conflict 
between  the  Brehon  Law  and  the  English  caused 
Shane  O'Neill  to  make  war  upon  Matthew  O'Neill, 
whom  the  English  Law  recognized  as  the  rightful  suc- 
cessor to  Conn  O'Neill,  and  after  several  encounters 
with  enemies  he  was  declared  victor.  As  Shane 
O'Neill  became  powerful  he  caused  much  concern 
to  the  English  who  backed  those  who  opposed  him, 
and  he  was  invited  to  a  peace  conference  with  Queen 
Elizabeth  in  1562,  the  conditions  of  which  he  after- 
ward repudiated;  but  in  the  following  year  he  made 
a  valid  and  lasting  submission. 

The  war  between  the  Fitzgeralds  and  Butlers 
caused  deputy  Sir  Henry  Sydney  to  take  a  tour 
through  the  country  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  He 
arrested  the  Earl  of  Desmond,  and  allowed  his 
brother,  John  Fitzgerald,  to  take  charge  of  Munster. 
Later,  through  their  old  enemy  Ormond,  both  these 
were  sent  to  the  tower,  where  they  were  kept  for  six 
years.  Their  cousin,  James  Fitzmaurice  Fitzgerald, 
took  up  their  case  with  the  Irish  chiefs,  who  had  be- 
come greatly  disafl'ected,  from  which  came  the 
Geraldine  rebellion.  Sydney  did  all  he  could  to 
upset  the  league  of  enemies  and  to  put  down  the 
rebellion.  He  appointed  Presidents  to  govern  Mun- 
ster and  Connaught,  but  these  simply  tantalized  the 
chiefs  and  people  and  increased  their  insubordina- 
tion. Spain  and  the  Pope,  at  the  solicitation  of 
Thomas  Stukely,  an  Irishman,  decided  to  attack  Ire- 
land,   and    accordingly    sent    Italian    and    Spanish 


52 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

soldiers  over;  but  their  efforts  were  not  successful. 
In  the  following  year,  1580,  another  expedition  of 
Italian  and  Spanish  soldiers  took  possession  of  a  fort 
at  Smerwich,  Kerry;  but  were  later  defeated  by  Earl 
Grey.  In  1583  the  Earl  of  Desmond  was  slain;  his 
lands  confiscated,  and,  so,  that  rebellion  which  pro- 
duced the  greatest  hardships  and  suffering  in  Munster 
was  brought  to  a  close. 

The  plantation  of  Desmond's  land  was  now  taken 
up.  Land  was  offered  to  Englishmen  at  two  pence 
and  three  pence  per  acre,  and  no  rent  was  to  be  col- 
lected for  the  first  five  years.  Everyone  who  took 
up  twelve  thousand  acres  of  this  land  agreed  to  settle 
eighty-six  English  families  on  it;  a  like  arrangement 
was  made  for  smaller  holdings.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
took  charge  of  forty-two  thousand  acres  in  Cork  and 
Waterford,  and  took  up  his  residence  near  old  Saint 
Mary's  Church,  Youghal.  Edmund  Spenser  took 
charge  of  twelve  thousand  acres  in  Cork.  The  Eng- 
lish settlers  did  not  come  as  arranged,  however,  and 
soon  most  of  the  land  reverted  to  its  former  owners. 

Hugh  O'Neill  was  born  about  1545,  and  succeeded 
his  brother  as  Baron  of  Dungannon.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  received  in  England,  where  he  adopted  the 
manners  of  the  people  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
government.  For  his  loyalty  in  the  early  days  of  his  ca- 
reer in  Ireland,  and  the  help  he  accorded  the  Govern- 
ment, he  was  duly  created  Earl  of  Tyrone,  after  which 
he  lost  interest  in  the  English  projects  and  finally  cast 


AND     A    WAY    OUT 53 

all  his  influence  on  the  side  of  the  chiefs  and  kings 
who  opposed  the  English.  In  view  of  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  country,  three  thousand  troops  were  sent 
from  England  under  the  generalship  of  Sir  John  Nor- 
ris;  and  O'Neill,  fearing  that  this  presaged  the  general 
subjugation  of  Ireland,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
a  revolutionary  movement  and  began  to  plunder  and 
destroy  the  English  settlements.  After  succeeding 
in  defeating  the  English  in  various  parts  of  the  coun- 
try he  won  a  rather  decisive  victory  at  Yellow  Ford 
with  the  aid  of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  Maguire,  and 
MacDonnell  of  the  Glens — all  leaders  of  pronounced 
ability.  On  hearing  of  the  success  of  the  revolution- 
ists in  the  North,  the  chiefs  of  Munster  incited  their 
people  to  rebel  also,  and  soon  the  whole  of  Ireland 
was  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  disorder  unequaled  in 
past  history.  At  this  time,  1599,  Robert  Devereux, 
second  Earl  of  Essex,  was  appointed  Lord  Lieutenant 
and  instructed  to  bring  Tyrone  to  account,  and  to 
settle  his  twenty  thousand  men  throughout  Ireland 
to  restore  order;  but  his  eff^orts,  including  a  peace 
conference  with  O'Neill,  came  to  nothing,  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  Charles  Blunt,  Lord  Mountjoy,  a  man 
of  marked  ability.  Lord  Mountjoy,  who  was  ably 
supported  by  Sir  George  Carew,  President  of  Munster, 
in  a  short  time  restored  order  in  all  the  provinces,  ex- 
cept Ulster — where  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  still  gave 
fight,  although  in  an  area  that  was  becoming  smaller 
daily.  The  arrival  of  a  Spanish  fleet  at  Kinsale  with 
3,400  troops,  and  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  Northern 


54 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

chiefs,  soon  brought  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  to  Munster 
to  carry  on  the  rebellion  there.  The  Spanish  leader, 
Don  Juan  del  Aquila,  and  the  Irish  chiefs  were  outgen- 
eraled by  Lord  Mount  joy  and  Kinsale,  and  a  line  of 
forts,  including  Baltimore,  Castlehaven  and  Dunboy, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  Hugh  O'Neill  was 
brought  to  Dublin:  the  Earl  of  Desmond  went  to 
Spain:  and  the  war  was  brought  to  a  close.  After 
O'Neill's  submission  he  and  O'Donnell  accompanied 
Lord  Mount] oy  to  England,  where  James  I.  of  Eng- 
land restored  them  to  their  titles  of  Tyrone  and  Tir- 
connell  with  their  former  lands.  Under  Sir  Arthur 
Chichester,  Mount  joy's  successor,  the  English  Laws 
and  customs  were  established  in  Ireland,  with  a  view 
to  the  settlement  of  the  country's  difficulties,  but  this 
effort  was  not  successful,  as  the  Irish  clung  to  their 
old  Brehon  Laws  and  customs.  In  a  short  while 
Tyrone  and  Tirconnell  fled  the  country  for  France, 
from  where  they  went  to  Rome  where  the  King  of 
Spain  and  the  Pope  gave  them  pensions,  which  they 
enjoyed  to  the  end  of  their  days. 

As  soon  as  James  came  to  the  throne  he  decided 
that  the  acts  of  Supremacy  and  Uniformity — which 
to  a  great  decree  had  been  unenforced — should  be 
repealed;  and,  also,  that  the  greater  part  of  Ulster, 
which  had  been  under  the  two  defeated  Earls,  should 
become  the  property  of  the  Crown.  Thus  came  about 
the  Plantation  of  Ulster — which  was  divided  into 
2,000,  1,500  and  1,000-acre  lots.  The  first  were  to 
be  taken  by  English  and  Scotch  settlers:  the  second, 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 55 

by  those  who  had  served  the  Government:  and  the 
third,  by  English,  Scotch  or  Irish. 

In  1633  King  Charles  I.  sent  Wentworth  to  Ire- 
land, who  gave  himself  up  to  raising  money  for  the 
king  and  to  acquiring  land  in  Connaught  and  Mun- 
ster,  in  which  he  placed  new  settlers  as  fast  as  he 
could  find  men  ready  to  agree  to  his  rules.  In  Ulster 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  linen  business  by  bring- 
ing skilled  men  from  France  to  work  in  the  industry 
there,  and  from  this  time  dates  the  development  of 
Irish  commerce.  He  summoned  an  Irish  Parliament 
in  1634,  and  compelled  the  members,  among  other 
things,  to  vote  the  wherewithal  to  maintain  an  army 
of  five  thousand  foot  and  five  hundred  horse.  He 
raised  an  army  of  nine  thousand  men  in  Ireland, 
whom  he  intended  to  use  in  the  king's  service,  but 
who  were  disbanded  and  became  a  source  of  great 
trouble  after  his  recall  in  1641. 

A  terrible  rebellion,  fed  by  religious  animosity, 
took  place  throughout  Ireland  under  the  leadership 
of  Rory  O'Moore,  Sir  Phelim  O'Neill,  Lord  Maguire 
of  Fermanugh,  Magennis,  O'Reilly  and  the  Mac- 
Mahons,  in  1641;  and  these  men  sought  the  help  of 
France,  Spain  and  the  Netherlands  in  their  desire  to 
cast  out  and  destroy  every  vestige  of  English  life  in 
the  country.  On  the  23d  of  October  a  general  upris- 
ing took  place,  and,  except  in  Dublin,  the  English 
and  their  sympathisers  were  set  upon  and  thousands 
were  murdered  inside  a  week.  The  cruelties  inflicted 
on    the    people    were    extremely    barbarous.      The 


56 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

Roman  Catholics  of  the  Pale  now  joined  with  those 
outside  and  effected  a  union  called  the  "Confedera- 
tion of  Kilkenny,"  set  upon  defending  "the  public 
and  free  exercise  of  the  true  and  Catholic  Roman 
religion;"  and  tried  to  make  the  people  believe  that 
they  were  loyal  subjects  of  the  king.  In  1645  the 
Pope  sent  a  representative  to  join  this  confederation, 
with  a  large  amount  of  money  and  war  instruments. 
After  repeated  efforts  and  defeats,  the  Confedera- 
tion agreed  to  peace  terms  which  brought  a  ghastly 
chapter  of  Irish  history  to  a  close. 

Upon  the  death  of  Charles  I.,  the  Irish  made  a  new 
alignment,  and  turned  to  the  Royalist  side,  proclaim- 
ing the  Prince  of  Wales  king  under  the  title  of 
Charles  II.  To  meet  the  situation  Oliver  Cromwell 
was  despatched  with  a  large  army  and  supplies  of  all 
kinds,  and  in  less  than  a  year  succeeded  in  subduing 
his  enemies  and  bringing  the  country  to  a  compara- 
tive state  of  order.  After  Cromwell's  son-in-law  and 
second  in  command,  Ireton,  had  carried  on  the  work 
of  settlement,  he  died  in  Ireland,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Edmund  Ludlow.  In  1652  Parliament  decided 
to  follow  up  Cromwell's  victory  by  depriving  those 
leaders  who  had  fought  against  him  of  their  lands, 
and  settling  instead  many  of  those  who  had  sup- 
ported him.  The  small  farmers  were  not  disturbed, 
however,  which  explains  in  part  the  large  number  of 
Roman  Catholics  found  in  the  South  and  West  of 
Ireland.  The  soldiers  who  had  fought  against  Crom- 
well were  allowed  to  go  elsewhere,  and  many  entered 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 57 

the  service  of  Continental  armies.  The  Parliament 
of  1661  passed  a  law  that  restored  any  person  who 
had  had  no  part  in  the  uprising  of  1641  to  his  former 
place  and  land.  Under  this  law  hmidreds  of  people 
proved  their  innocence  and  were  reinstated. 

At  the  time  of  the  Restoration,  it  is  estimated  that, 
of  a  population  of  1,100,000  in  Ireland,  no  less  than 
800,000  were  adherents  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  and  100,000  were  members  of  the  Church  of 
Ireland—which  Charles  restored  to  its  former  place 
— and  200,000  were  non-conformists.  The  Presby- 
terians were  now  brought  into  contact  with  the  Act 
of  Uniformity.  When  James  II.  came  into  power  he 
steadfastly  tried  to  set  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
on  a  solid  footing  in  Ireland  by  turning  every  English- 
man out  of  office,  and  requiring  that  every  Judge, 
Privy  Councillor,  Mayor  and  Alderman  should  be  a 
Roman  Catholic  and  an  Irishman.  The  Irish  army 
was  placed  under  men  who  had  fulfilled  the  above 
test:  and  many  rumors  as  to  intended  massacers 
spread  through  the  country,  so  that  fifteen  hundred 
non-Roman  Catholic  families  left  the  country.  Will- 
iam, Prince  of  Orange,  came  to  Ireland  to  call  James 
and  his  officers  to  account,  but  James  fled  to  France, 
where  he  raised  a  small  army  to  take  back  to  Ireland. 
Enniskillen  refused  to  admit  James'  army;  and 
Derry,  into  which  many  refugees  had  come  for  safety, 
with  the  slogan  "no  surrender,"  remained  in  a  state 
of  siege  for  one  hundred  and  five  days,  after  which 
James  and  his  followers  had  to  withdraw  defeated. 


58 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Meanwhile  James  had  a  Roman  Catholic  parliament 
in  Dublin  repeal  all  the  offensive  measures  hitherto 
passed,  including  Foyning's  Law  and  the  Act  of 
Settlement. 

In  1689  the  Duke  of  Schomberg  was  sent  to  Ire- 
land to  interrupt  James'  program  among  the  people; 
but  no  sooner  had  he  arrived  than  the  French  ruler 
sent  James  seven  thousand  picked  men  to  help  in  his 
battles.  The  battle  was  set  in  array  on  July  1st  near 
Oldbridge,  and  after  a  day's  hard  fighting  James  ran 
from  the  field  with  his  defeated  force  retreating 
toward  Dublin.  Sarsfield,  James'  chief  leader,  upon 
hearing  of  James'  defeat,  said  to  one  of  William's 
army,  "Change  kings  with  us,  and  we  will  fight  you 
over  again."  Limerick  resisted  William's  siege,  after 
which  he  returned  to  England,  leaving  Churchill,  then 
Earl  of  Marlborough,  in  command,  before  whom 
Cork  and  Kinsale  capitulated.  Soon  Athlone  and 
Aughrim  were  overcome.  Limerick  alone  remained 
in  revolt.  Sarsfield  agreed  to  a  treaty  under  the 
terms  of  which  security  from  disturbance  on  account 
of  religion  was  guaranteed ;  those  in  arms  with  James 
were  allowed  what  they  possessed  in  Charles  I.'s  time; 
the  garrison  were  allowed  to  march  out  of  the  city 
with  colors  flying;  and  those  who  wanted  to  go  abroad 
were  allowed  to  do  so.  William  and  Mary  were  then 
acknowledged  as  the  rulers  of  the  country. 

Steps  were  now  taken  to  prevent  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics from  attaining  any  real  power  in  the  affairs  of 
the  country,  so  that  another  uprising  against  their 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 59 

brethren  of  other  religious  proclivities  should  be  im- 
possible; and  the  measures  taken  by  James  against 
the  non-Roman  Catholics  were  improved  and  now 
put  into  force  against  the  Roman  Catholics.  James 
had  disarmed  the  people  who  were  not  likely  to  sup- 
port his  efforts;  but  the  laws  of  William  forbade 
most  of  the  Roman  Catholics  to  possess  arms,  and  to 
the  oath  of  Supremacy  was  added  the  oath  of  Abjura- 
tion. Other  laws  enacted  touched  the  liberty  of  all 
who  did  not  being  to  the  Church  of  Ireland,  and 
especially  that  one  which  made  it  necessary  for  voters 
to  receive  the  Eucharist  according  to  the  established 
rite.  These  laws  were  made  more  obnoxious  in  later 
years,  and  resulted  in  general  disaffection. 

The  legitimate  trade  of  Ireland  was  greatly  ham- 
pered by  legislation  intended  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  English  farmers  and  others.  The  Navigation 
Act  of  1660-3  forbade  exports  to  the  Colonies  and 
the  sending  of  Irish  raised  cattle  to  England.  In 
1698  the  Irish  Parliament  greatly  helped  in  destroy- 
ing the  woolen  trade  of  the  country  by  placing  a  tax 
of  four  shillings  in  the  pound  on  woolen  goods  sent 
out  of  the  country  to  other  markets,  and  a  tax  of  two 
shillings  on  frieze  and  flannel.  This  legislation  crip- 
pled trade,  and  as  a  result  thousands  were  thrown 
out  of  work — many  of  whom  emigrated. 


60  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


CHAPTER  IV 
The  Union  and  Some  of  Its  Results 

Distinguished  leaders. — Various  societies  formed. — The 
Volunteers  and  the  1783  Parliament. — Coercion. — Enfran- 
chisement of  Roman  Catholics. — Wolf  Tone  and  the  1798 
Rebellion. — Northern  Orangemen. — The  Union. — Efforts  to 
Repeal. — Daniel  O'Connell  enters  Parliament. — National 
education. — Various  reforms. — The  ''Young  Ireland  Party." — 
John  Mitchell  and  independence. — The  Famine,  1845-7  and 
American   aid. — The   Church   of   Ireland   disestablished. 

N  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  little  took  place 
which  affected  the  welfare  of  Ireland, 
except  the  petition  from  the  Irish  House 
of  Lords  that  the  two  countries  be  united, 
but  no  legislative  action  was  taken  to  this  end. 
After  the  Union  between  England  and  Scotland 
had  been  effected,  the  petition  was  again  presented, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  Later,  when  a  legal  case  was 
passed  upon  by  the  Irish  House  of  Lords,  the  English 
House  of  Lords  reversed  the  decision;  and,  later,  as 
a  consequence  of  this  disagreement,  the  English  Par- 
liament passed  the  famous  law,  "The  Sixth  of 
George  I.",  which  deprived  the  Irish  House  of  Lords 
of  the  power  to  hear  appeals,  and  arrogated  to  itself 
the  power  to  make  laws  for  Ireland. 

The  tract  of  William  Molyneux,  "The  Case  of 
Ireland's  being  bound  by  Acts  of  Parliament  in  Eng- 
land stated,"  must  have  whetted  Dean  Swift's  dis- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 61 

approval  of  Ireland's  scant  legislative  power,  and 
twenty-five  years  later  caused  him  to  write  the  famous 
"Drapier  Letters,"  which  gave  a  definite  turn  to  the 
thoughts  and  aspirations  of  the  Irish  people.  The 
English  Government  had  granted  to  a  certain  Mr. 
Wood,  of  England,  a  patent  to  make  £108,000  worth 
of  half -pence  and  farthings  for  use  in  Ireland,  out  of 
which  the  maker  of  the  coins  would  make  £40,000 
for  his  own  pocket.  The  two  houses  of  the  Irish 
Parliament  had  disapproved  of  this  law,  and  had 
stated  that  the  proposed  coins  were  to  be  of  less  value 
than  those  used  in  England,  consequently  depressing 
Irish  trade  and  commerce ;  but  the  English  authorities 
remained  obdurate,  and  the  law  would  have  passed, 
if  Dean  Swift  had  not  taken  the  matter  in  hand.  Dean 
Swift  wrote  five  letters  in  his  most  trenchant  style,  and 
signed  them  W.  B.  Drapier,  stating  that  twenty-four  of 
those  proposed  half -pence  would  be  worth  only  one 
good  penny,  that  the  people  would  have  to  use  carts 
and  horses  to  draw  their  coins  to  the  shops  when 
marketing,  and  that  even  the  very  beggars  would  be 
ruined  by  it,  for,  he  stated,  one  of  these  half  pennies 
"will  do  him  no  more  service  than  if  I  should  give 
him  three  pins  out  of  my  sleeve."  The  whole  country, 
for  once,  were  at  one  in  condemning  the  scheme ;  and 
popular  indignation  wa$  at  its  height  when  Lord  Car- 
teret, the  new  Viceroy,  offered  £300  to  any  one  who 
would  produce  the  writer  of  the  letters;  but,  while 
everyone  knew  that  the  Dean  was  the  writer,  no  one 
was  willing  to  get  him  into  trouble,  and,  so,  he  was  not 


62 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

interfered  with.  The  printer  was  imprisoned,  and 
tried  by  two  juries  who  failed  to  agree  on  a  verdict. 
These  letters  however,  killed  the  scheme;  and  the 
patent  was  withdrawn  from  Wood,  who  received  a 
pension  for  his  disappointment.  The  Dean  was  a 
thorough  patriot:  years  before  he  had  put  forth  a 
plan,  which  if  carried  out  would  have  gone  a  long  way 
toward  making  the  country  more  prosperous,  united 
and  self-reliable,  "For  the  universal  use  of  Irish 
manufacture  in  clothes  and  the  furniture  of  houses;" 
but  he  received  little  encouragement  from  his 
countrymen. 

The  short  stay  of  Lord  Chesterton  as  Viceroy  was 
a  hopeful  time  for  Ireland,  for,  instead  of  antagoniz- 
ing any  party  as  some  of  his  predecessors  had  done, 
he  inaugurated  a  policy  of  conciliation  toward  all, 
ignoring  various  laws  and  ruling  according  to  his  own 
good  sense.  "I  came,"  said  he,  "determined  to  pro- 
scribe no  set  of  persons  whatever,  and  determined  to 
be  governed  by  none."  This  policy,  however,  gave 
offence,  and  soon  he  was  recalled,  taking  with  him 
the  affection  and  love  of  the  people,  and  leaving  a 
record  that  greatly  helped  to  further  the  desires  of 
the  people,  so  ably  voiced  and  supported  by 
Mr.  Molyneux  and  Dean  Swift.  The  question  as  to 
the  disposition  of  a  surplus  revenue,  and  its  final 
settlement  without  the  king's  consent,  greatly  in- 
creased the  power  of  the  party  in  Parliament  known 
as  "Patriots,"  and  gave  more  zest  and  form  to  the 
movement    for    parliamentary    independence.      Dr. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 63 

Charles  Lucas  of  Dublin  was  so  bold  in  pushing  the 
case  for  independence  and  the  abolition  of  disabling 
law,  that  the  Irish  Parliament  instituted  legal  pro- 
ceedings against  him,  and  he  fled  to  England  for 
safety.  About  this  time  a  society,  having  for  its  ob- 
ject the  furthering  of  the  interests  of  Roman  Catholics, 
was  formed  as  the  "Catholic  Committee."  A  society 
of  "Whiteboys"  was  formed  in  1761,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  guard  against  the  encroachment  of  land- 
lords ;  but  later  this  society  assumed  the  right  of  deal- 
ing treacherously  and  wantonly  with  all  who  differed 
from  them.  Other  societies  such  as  "Hearts  of  Oak," 
formed  against  forced  labor  on  roads,  and  "Hearts 
of  Steel,"  formed  against  the  trafficking  of  middlemen 
in  rents,  came  into  existence  about  this  time,  to  which 
were  added  later  the  Volunteers,  the  society  of 
"United  Irishmen,"  and  the  "Orangemen."  Mr. 
Henry  Flood,  a  man  of  unusual  ability,  now  came  for- 
ward as  the  leader  of  the  "Patriotic  Party"  in  Par- 
liament, and  succeeded,  aided  by  the  eloquent  Henry 
Grattan,  in  securing  some  concessions  from  the  Eng- 
lish Government  regarding  the  Irish  Parliament.  The 
life  of  the  English  Parliament  was  seven  years,  while 
that  of  the  Irish  Parliament  was  during  the  king's 
pleasure;  and  now  a  bill  was  approved  in  both  Par- 
liaments making  the  life  of  the  Irish  Parliament  eight 
years.  Mr.  Flood,  however,  owing  to  his  having 
accepted  a  post  under  the  English  Viceroy,  lost  the 
confidence  of  the  Irish  people,  and  was  succeeded  as 
leader  by  his  friend  Mr.  Grattan,  who  never  spared 


64 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

his  oratorical  power  when  opportunity  offered. 
When  Mr.  Grattan  assumed  command,  the  interests 
of  England  were  in  a  critical  state.  The  American 
Independence  was  being  secured,  France  and  Spain 
were  threatening  invasion  and  helping  the  Colonies, 
the  Irish  were  raising  Volunteers  to  keep  Ireland  safe, 
and  the  patriots  were  clamoring  for  redress  of  re- 
ligious and  commercial  grievances  in  Parliament — 
which  were  partially  set  right. 

When  the  Parliament  of  1779  assembled,  the 
Patriotic  Party,  who  now  practically  controlled  the 
Volunteers,  became  more  assertive  and  dictational, 
and  Mr.  Grattan  moved  an  amendment  to  the  address, 
"that  it  is  not  by  temporary  expedients,  but  by  a  free 
trade  alone  that  this  nation  is  now  to  be  saved  from 
impending  ruin."  Free  trade  was  granted  the  same 
year.  After  a  couple  of  attempts  to  secure  favorable 
legislation,  Mr.  Grattan,  in  1782,  called  together 
representatives  of  the  100,000  Volunteers  for  a  con- 
vention at  Dungannon,  and  there  two  hundred  and 
forty-two  delegates  passed  some  striking  resolutions. 
These  delegates  declared  that  the  King  and  the  Irish 
Parliament  alone  had  the  right  to  make  laws  for  Ire- 
land: that  Poyning's  Law  was  unconstitutional;  that 
Irish  ports  should  be  open  to  all  friendly  nations ;  and 
that  they  rejoiced  in  the  relaxation  of  the  Penal  Laws 
against  their  Roman  Catholic  fellow-subjects.  These 
resolutions — with  others  of  the  Convention — were 
duly  ratified  by  the  Volunteers,  who  were  not  Roman 
Catholics.     The  English  Parliament  passed  an  act 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 65 

the  same  year,  known  as  the  "Act  of  Repeal,"  repeal- 
ing the  "Sixth  of  George  I.",  and  putting  into  effect 
the  recommendations  of  Mr.  Grattan  and  the  Volun- 
teers, which  brought  forth  rejoicing  among  the  Irish, 
who  rewarded  Mr.  Grattan  by  a  grant  of  money  and 
voted  men  and  money  to  the  English  navy. 

During  the  session  of  the  Parliament  of  1783  in 
Dublin,  representatives  of  the  Volunteers  met  in  Dub- 
lin also,  and  considered  the  question  of  reforming 
Parliament  and  annuling  all  disagreeable  laws. 
Mr.  Henry  Flood  brought  a  bill  into  Parliament  set- 
ting forth  the  desires  of  those  representatives,  which, 
however,  failed  of  passage  and  resulted  in  Mr.  Flood's 
entering  the  Parliament  in  England  and  the  disband- 
ing of  the  Volunteers.  Upon  the  disbanding  of  the 
Volunteers,  who  continued  to  hold  secret  meetings  in 
small  groups,  the  government  fearing  trouble,  which 
seemed  to  be  brewing,  added  to  the  army  strength  in 
Ireland.  At  this  time  the  "Whiteboys"  inaugurated 
a  reign  of  terror  in  the  South,  and  avenged  their 
anger  on  those  who  appeared  to  be  gaining  from  the 
system  that  they  were  anxious  to  abolish.  The  "tithe" 
collectors,  middlemen  and  curates  were  especially 
singled  out,  and  received  the  hardest  kind  of  treat- 
ment. In  the  North  the  "Peep-o'-day  boys"  carried 
on  a  campaign  of  terror  also,  and  often  came  into 
open  conflict  with  the  "Whiteboys,"  who  were  de- 
feated at  the  Dimond,  Armagh,  in  a  battle  on  Septem- 
ber 21,  1795.  As  a  means  of  dealing  with  the  strife 
engendered  by  these  societies,   the  Government  in 


66 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

1787  passed  a  coercion  bill  that  applied  to  the  whole 
of  Ireland. 

Through  the  efforts  of  the  "United  Irishmen," 
founded  by  Mr.  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone  in  1791,  and 
the  "Catholic  Committee,"  a  Bill  was  passed  in  Par- 
liament in  1793  enfranchising  Roman  Catholics, 
allowing  them  to  take  degrees  in  Trinity  College, 
opening  civil  posts  to  them,  and  removing  barriers 
which  for  a  long  time  had  been  cause  for  disaffection. 
Two  years  later,  the  government  set  apart  the  college 
of  Maynooth — ^for  the  education  of  Roman  Catholic 
priests — and  gave  it  an  annual  grant  of  £8,000. 

The  "United  Irishmen,"  who  now  numbered  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  men,  and  had  among 
their  leaders  some  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  the 
time,  soon  became  recognized  as  a  revolutionary 
body  and  were  closely  watched  by  the  government. 
Mr.  Tone,  their  leader,  seeing  that  England  had  many 
problems  on  hand,  went  to  France  and  arranged  for 
a  French  invasion  of  Ireland;  but  when  the  fleet  of 
forty-three  ships  was  nearing  its  destination  it  en- 
countered such  severe  weather  that  only  sixteen  of 
the  ships  came  into  harbor,  and  these  after  waiting 
a  week  for  other  support  returned  again  to  France. 
Martial  Law  was  then  proclaimed  by  the  government; 
several  "United  Irishmen"  were  arrested  and  many 
papers  seized.  Mr.  Grattan,  having  failed  to  effect 
conciliatory  arrangements  between  the  "United  Irish- 
men" and  the  Government,  left  Parliament.  The  next 
year  a  Dutch  invasion  of  Ireland  was  tried;  but  Ad- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 67 

miral  Duncan  inflicted  a  heavy  blow  on  the  invaders 
at  Camperdown,  which  brought  their  effort  to  an  end. 
The  general  discontent  among  the  "Volunteers" 
soon  led  to  open  rebellion,  for  which  the  Government 
were  practically  prepared,  as  the  secret  arrangements 
of  these  societies  had  been  carried  to  government 
leaders  through  a  fairly  good  spy  system,  and  when 
a  concerted  rebellion  was  about  to  break  all  over 
Ireland,  some  of  its  leaders  were  arrested.  When  the 
rebellion  of  1798  did,  however,  come,  it  was  ushered 
in  through  the  crudest  methods;  and  it  was  overcome 
by  like  treatment.  In  the  North,  the  rebellion  did  not 
attain  large  proportions  owing  to  the  society  of 
"Orangemen,"  who  always  took  the  side  of  the  Gov- 
ernment; but  in  the  South  and  East  the  rising  was  car- 
ried on  in  the  most  ruthless  fashion,  and  many  inno- 
cent, law-abiding  people  were  murdered.  Generally 
considered,  this  rebellion,  while  it  started  as  a  politi- 
cal one,  developed  quickly  into  a  religious  strife  be- 
tween the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  non-Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  numerous  instances  of  cruelty  occurred  on 
each  side.  The  massacre  of  the  loyal  people  who  had 
gathered  in  Scullaboge  house,  eight  miles  from  New 
Ross,  by  the  infuriated  Roman  Catholics,  is  an  exam- 
ple of  the  treatment  accorded  those  who  fell  into 
enemy  hands.  The  account  of  this  particular  act  of 
religious  fury  is  as  familiar  to  the  people  of  Ireland 
today  as  anything  that  ever  took  place  in  the  country; 
and  many  think  of  it  as  a  well-conceived  plan  to  ex- 
terminate as  far  as  possible  the  non-Roman  Catholic 


68 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

people.  After  a  week's  bloody  warfare  the  rebellion 
was  practically  overcome  by  the  victory  of  Vinegar 
Hill,  under  Lord  Lake;  and,  although  resistance  was 
offered  here  and  there  throughout  the  country,  the 
conquering  soldiers  swept  hither  and  thither  inflicting 
cruelty  and  indignity  by  way  of  reprisal  upon  the  re- 
treating enemy.  There  was  no  hope  of  success  after 
this,  especially  as  French  aid  long  promised  did  not 
arrive  until  it  was  too  late.  The  French  expedition 
which  landed  at  Killala  Bay  on  August  22,  1798,  and 
the  one  which  came  to  Lough  Swilly,  with  which 
Mr.  Wolfe  Tone  was  identified,  were  duly  defeated; 
and,  instead  of  helping  the  rebellion,  greatly  preju- 
diced the  Irish  case  in  the  minds  of  the  Government 
and  the  loyalists. 

William  Pitt,  who  had  contemplated  a  legislative 
Union  between  England  and  Ireland,  was  Prime  Min- 
ister, and  very  soon  seized  upon  the  opportunity  which 
the  defeat  of  the  rebellion  offered  to  shape  sentiment 
and  clear  the  way  for  putfing  what  he  believed  to  be 
a  necessity  for  the  welfare  of  both  countries  into 
effect.  Lord  Comwallis,  who  in  many  ways  resem- 
bled Lord  Chesterton  in  his  dealing  with  Ireland,  was 
Lord  Lieutenant  at  this  time,  and  often  shrunk  from 
carrying  out  measures  which  appeared  necessary  to 
secure  the  required  authority  of  the  Irish  Parliament 
for  their  own  death  warrant.  The  Irish  Parliament 
was  opened  on  January  15,  1800,  and,  as  the  people 
knew  what  was  under  consideration,  great  anxiety  pre- 
vailed in  the  Streets  of  Dublin  and  throughout  the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 69 

land.  Mr.  Grattan,  who  was  confined  to  bed  through 
illness,  rose  up  to  attend  the  session  and  made  an 
effort  to  have  the  union  measure  defeated  or  post- 
poned, but  without  avail;  and  the  Act  of  Union  was 
passed  with  a  large  majority,  and  came  into  effect  on 
the  first  of  January,  1801. 

The  Act  of  Union  made  Ireland  and  Great  Britain 
"The  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland," 
and  guaranteed  the  succession  to  the  throne.  In  the 
new  Parliament,  Ireland  was  given  in  the  upper  house 
four  spiritual  and  twenty-eight  temporal  Lords,  and 
in  the  lower  house  one  hundred  members.  The 
Church  of  Ireland  was  united  with  that  of  England; 
but  no  provision  was  made  for  the  conferring  of  com- 
plete religious  rights  upon  the  Roman  Catholic  peo- 
ple, which,  however,  was  remedied  some  years  after- 
wards. Trade  and  Commerce  of  both  countries  were 
brought  under  the  same  law;  Ireland  was  to  con- 
tribute about  two-seventeenths  of  the  United  Kingdom 
outlay;  and  it  was  decided  that  the  National  Debt 
should  be  paid  by  each  country  as  formerly.  The 
Courts  of  Justice  were  to  remain  as  then  constituted, 
with  an  opportunity  of  final  appeal  to  the  House  of 
Lords.  The  population  of  Ireland  at  the  time  of  the 
Union  was  about  five  million.  The  economic  con- 
dition of  the  country  at  that  time  is  stated  in  another 
part  of  this  book. 

The  Union  was  no  sooner  effected  than  steps  were 

taken  toward   another  rebellion   under  Mr.   Robert 

Emmet,  who  tried  to  bring  together  the  disbanded 
5 


70  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

"United  Irishmen;"  but,  in  his  effort  to  secure  con- 
certed action  among  those  who  responded  to  his  call, 
he  failed  completely.  The  uprising  of  July,  1802, 
was  quickly  suppressed  by  the  military,  and  Mr.  Em- 
met was  arrested,  tried,  and  executed.  This,  as  other 
uprisings,  was  productive  of  much  strife  among  the 
people,  and  contributed  largely  toward  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  country.     • 

The  "Catholic  Committee"  continued  its  efforts 
toward  the  removing  of  the  last  disability  which  pre- 
vented Roman  Catholics  from  sitting  in  Parliam^ent. 
At  this  time  a  new  leader  appeared,  who  possessed 
special  qualifications  for  the  work  to  which  he  gave 
his  best  efforts.  Mr.  Daniel  O'Connell  was  a  man 
who  had  come  from  a  Kerry  Roman  Catholic  family, 
and  had  studied  abroad  in  preparation  for  the  legal 
profession;  but  after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  gave 
himself  chiefly  to  the  work  of  nullifying  the  law  which 
prevented  the  Roman  Catholics  from  entering  Parlia- 
ment, and,  also,  to  the  starting  of  a  movement  for  the 
repeal  of  the  law  which  effected  the  Union,  which  he 
termed  the  "Repeal  of  the  Union."  Mr.  O'Connell, 
unlike  most  leaders,  deprecated  the  principle  of  open 
hostility  to  the  Government  of  his  time,  and  deter- 
mined to  seek  his  ends  through  quiet  and  persistent 
methods,  depending  on  the  reasonableness  of  his 
claims,  educational  work,  and  the  fair-mindedness  of 
those  in  power.  In  this  new  method  of  acquiring  his 
end,  Mr.  O'Connell  was  ably  supported  by  that  gifted 
man  Mr.  Thomas  Moore,  who  composed  some  inspir- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 71 

ing  songs  and  set  them  to  old  Irish  airs,  and  thus 
helped  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  past 
and  also  to  foster  a  national  consciousness.  As  Mr. 
Grattan's  successor,  Mr.  O'Connell  soon  came  into 
prominence;  and,  owing  to  his  persuasive  oratory, 
secured  a  hearing  wherever  he  went  and  was  greatly 
in  demand  as  a  public  speaker.  Mr.  Grattan  and 
George  the  III.  died  in  1820.  George  the  IV.  de- 
cided to  visit  Ireland,  where  the  welcome  he  received 
was  of  the  most  cordial  nature,  especially  as  the  Irish 
people  generally  believed  that  his  stay  among  them 
would  result  soon  in  legislation  favorable  to  their 
country.  As  no  relief  came  as  the  result  of  this  visit, 
the  country  remained  disturbed:  and  in  1822,  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  who  had  been  Chief  Secretary  since 
1812,  had  the  Royal  Irish  Constabulary,  generally 
dubbed  "peelers,"  created  by  Act  of  Parliament. 

In  1823  Mr.  O'Connell  and  Mr.  Richard  Lalor 
Shiel  formed  the  "Catholic  Association,"  the  old,  and 
the  new,  "Catholic  Committee"  having  ceased  to  ex- 
ist, with  the  purpose  of  obtaining  Roman  Catholic 
freedom  in  the  fullest  sense ;  and,  in  order  to  provide 
finance  for  this  object,  the  Association,  which  had 
reached  all  over  the  country,  collected  one  penny  per 
week  from  their  supporters.  This  subscription  was 
called  "Catholic  Rent."  An  Act  of  Parliament  legis- 
lated the  "Association"  out  of  existence,  but  Mr. 
O'Connell  managed  to  circumvent  the  law  and  keep 
the  Association  alive — calling  meetings  from  time  to 
time  for  a  fortnight  only. 


72 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Mr.  O'ConnelFs  fitness  for  Parliament  was  appar- 
ent to  everyone,  but,  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  he  could 
not  conscientiously  qualify.  Some  men,  however,  of 
all  kinds  of  political  affiliation,  desirous  to  see 
Mr.  O'Connell  representing  Ireland,  suggested  to  him 
that  he  should  stand  for  election,  and,  if  elected,  pre- 
sent himself  at  the  House  of  Commons  for  admission. 
A  vacancy  in  Clare  gave  the  opportunity  to  put  this 
plan  into  effect.  Mr.  O'Connell  opposed  Mr.  Vesey 
Fitzgerald,  the  former  member — who  owing  to  prefer- 
ment to  the  Presidency  of  the  Board  of  Trade  had  to 
seek  re-election — and  was  elected  to  Parliament  by 
a  large  majority.  When  Mr.  O'Connell  first  appeared 
in  Parliament  he  refused  to  take  the  qualifying  oath, 
and,  so  was  debarred.  After  another  election  and  his 
return  by  a  larger  majority  than  previously,  the  gov- 
ernment awoke  to  the  importance  of  the  part  the 
"Catholic  Association"  was  playing  and  the  desire 
of  the  people  of  Ireland  and  England  for  Mr.  O'Con- 
nelFs admission  to  Parliament,  and  soon  legislation 
was  enacted  which  enabled  him  to  take  the  seat  to 
which  he  had  been  elected.  He  had,  however,  for  the 
third  time  to  seek  election;  as  the  bill  which  granted 
Emancipation  came  into  effect  on  April  13,  1829, 
and  was  not  retroactive;  but  in  this  election  he  was 
not  opposed,  and  in  due  time  was  admitted  to  the 
United  Parliament,  where  he  started  a  movement  for 
another  end,  which  has  continued  to  this  day,  under 
one  title  or  another,  the  "Repeal  of  the  Union." 

George  IV.  died  in  1830,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 


ANDAWAYOUT  73 


brother  William  IV.  Then  followed  a  General 
Election,  which  resulted  in  the  re-election  of 
Mr.  O'Connell  and  the  election  of  several  Roman 
Catholic  supporters.  The  "Catholic  Association" 
was  now  named  the  "Society  of  the  Friends  of  Ire- 
land," and,  as  this  was  declared  illegal,  Mr.  O'Con- 
nell formed  the  "Anti-Union  Association"  which  was 
likewise  proscribed.  In  1831  Chief  Secretary  E.  C. 
Stanley  founded  a  National  Education  system  in  Ire- 
land, which  combined  secular  and  religious  instruc- 
tion for  the  children  under  separate  religious 
auspices,  and  provided  that  no  interference  with  any 
child's  religious  teachings  should  take  place.  To  this 
system,  still  in  vogue,  reference  is  made  in  another 
chapter.  In  1832,  a  Parliament  Reform  Bill  was 
passed,  which  gave  a  vote  to  tenants  of  £50  a  year, 
and  to  lease-holders  at  ten  pounds  a  year,  and  in- 
creased the  number  of  Irish  representatives  to  one 
hundred  and  five.  The  restiveness  caused  by  the 
"Church  tithes  and  church  rates"  requirement  was 
partially  settled  in  1833  by  the  "Church  Temporali- 
ties Bill,"  which,  besides  reducing  the  Archbishoprics 
from  four  to  two  and  the  Bishoprics  from  eighteen  to 
ten,  abolished  church  rates;  and  five  years  later  the 
tithes  were  reduced  to  twenty-five  per  cent.,  and  the 
responsibility  of  payment  placed  on  the  landlord  in- 
stead of  the  tenant  as  formerly. 

William  IV.  died  on  June  20th,  1837,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  niece.  Princess  Victoria.  In  the  next 
year  the  great  temperance  movement  was  inaugurated 


74 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

by  the  Reverend  Theobald  Matthew,  who  exercised 
wonderful  influence  over  the  people  and  persuaded 
many  to  become  total  abstainers.  In  1842  the  "Na- 
tion" newspaper  was  founded  by  Messrs.  Charles 
Gavan  Duffy,  John  Blake  Dillon  and  Thomas  Davis, 
which  propagated  the  desire  for  political  freedom 
and  revived  the  nation's  literature.  In  the  next  year 
Mr.  O'Gonnell  and  his  followers  held  large  meetings 
throughout  the  country,  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
Repeal  of  the  Union,  which  were  at  length  forbidden 
by  the  Government;  but  Mr.  O'Connell's  disregard 
for  the  Government's  orders  resulted  in  his  arrest, 
trial,  and  conviction — which  was  later  disallowed  by 
the  House  of  Lords.  After  Mr.  O'Connell's  libera- 
tion a  number  of  men,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  his 
methods,  determined  to  break  from  his  leadership  and 
found  a  society  of  their  own  to  be  guided  by  other 
principles  of  attaining  the  Repeal  of  the  Union. 

These  men,  among  whom  Messrs.  John  Mitchell, 
Thomas  Francis  Meagher  and  William  Smith  O'Brien, 
as  leaders,  formed,  "The  Young  Ireland  Party," 
which  was  intended  to  include  all  Irishmen  of  every 
party  and  creed.  This  movement  did  wonders  among 
the  people,  for  it  created  a  desire  for,  and  propagated, 
Irish  history  and  made  the  people  more  appreciative 
of  their  music,  folk-lore  and  tradition.  It  gave  the 
country  a  broad  vision,  in  that  it  fostered  apprecia- 
tion of  all  that  was  good  in  the  past,  and  inculcated  a 
desire  to  respect  other  men's  views.  It  gave  a  new 
spirit  which,  if  it  had  remained,  would  have  removed 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 75 

many  difficulties  in  Ireland's  path  in  later  years:  but 
that  was  not  to  be.  Notwthstanding  Mr.  O'Connell's 
advice  to  this  party,  for  he  foresaw  where  their  new 
attitude  would  lead  them,  Mr.  John  Mitchell,  who  had 
founded  a  newspaper  called  the  "United  Irishman," 
headed  a  movement  for  the  complete  independence 
of  Ireland  and  sought  aid  from  France  to  this  end. 
Mr.  Mitchell  was  arrested,  tried  and  sentenced  to 
fourteen  years  penal  servitude,  which  he  worked  out 
in  Bermuda  and  Australia.  Mr.  Smith  O'Brien  then 
led  the  revolution,  which  was  quickly  suppressed,  as 
no  real  plan  had  been  made  for  its  continuance,  and 
the  leaders  were  in  due  time  imprisoned. 

In  1845-1847  the  disastrous  potato  famine  took 
place  in  Ireland.  Help  was  sent  from  England  and 
from  America;  but  notwithstanding  all  the  assistance 
rendered  thousands  of  people  died  of  starvation. 
In  Grace  Church  Parish  House,  New  York,  Rev.  Dr. 
Slattery,  Rector,  may  be  seen  an  engraving  of  the 
town  of  Sligo  and  a  letter  of  thanks,  sent  by  the  people 
of  Sligo  to  the  congregation  of  Grace  Church  in  ap- 
preciation of  their  generous  aid  in  those  trying  days. 
Mr.  O'Connell,  who  had  keenly  felt  the  misery  en- 
tailed by  the  famine,  began  to  decline  in  health  in 
1846  and  on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  1847,  died  in 
Genoa,  after  willing  his  heart  to  Rome  and  his  body 
to  Ireland,  where,  in  Glasneven  Cemetery,  Dublin, 
his  remains  were  interred,  and  a  monument  erected  to 
his  memory.  The  famine,  which  influenced  the  law 
repealing  the  Com  Laws  was  a  real  blight  in  the  de- 


76    THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

velopment  of  Ireland.  Emigration  now  set  in  as  one 
of  the  cures  of  the  evils  left  in  the  wake  of  the  famine, 
and  thousands  set  out  for  America  and  elsewhere  to 
seek  their  fortunes,  with  a  result  of  a  large  falling  off 
in  rural  population  and  a  marked  decrease  in  the 
whole  population  of  the  country.  At  the  time  of  the 
Union  there  were  about  5,000,000  people  in  Ireland, 
whereas  about  1845,  when  the  famine  began,  there 
were  8,295,000,  but  this  number  was  greatly  reduced 
by  the  famine  and  emigration;  and  at  the  present  time, 
notwithstanding  the  many  aids  given  by  the  govern- 
ment, during  the  past  fifty  years,  in  local  government, 
land  purchase  and  industrial  development,  the  whole 
population  is  less  than  5,000,000.  The  decrease  in 
rural  population  is  not,  however,  peculiar  to  Ireland; 
but  is  world-wide,  as  the  history  of  almost  every  coun- 
try shows  during  the  last  half-century. 

The  "Society  of  the  Fenian  Brotherhood"  was 
formed  in  1862,  and  had  for  its  object  the  securing  of 
Ireland's  independence  by  force;  but,  although  a  se- 
cret society,  the  government,  through  spies,  knew 
every  move  made  and  were  able  to  frustrate  its 
efforts  at  all  times.  This  Brotherhood  spread  to  Eng- 
land and  America.  In  England  the  Fenians  planned 
to  take  Chester,  and  later  to  make  an  invasion  of  Ire- 
land, and  in  America  they  planned  an  invasion  of 
Canada;  but  in  each  instance  their  efforts  proved 
abortive,  and  the  ringleaders  were  either  executed  or 
sent  to  prison. 

After  these  events,  and  by  way  of  making  a  con- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 77 

cession  to  the  demands  of  some  of  the  advocates  of 
Ireland's  case,  the  Government  set  about  a  reforma- 
tion in  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  Church  of  Ireland ; 
and,  in  accordance  with  Mr.  Gladstone's  desire,  the 
Church  of  Ireland  was  legally  disestablished  in  1869. 
Owing  to  this  order,  a  large  sum  of  money  came  into 
the  hands  of  the  Government  from  the  Church  of  Ire- 
land. Part  of  this  money  was  given  to  support 
Maynooth  College,  the  training  college  for  the  Roman 
Catholic  Ministry;  part  of  it  was  given  to  Inter- 
mediate Education;  and  part  of  it  was  given  toward 
the  agricultural  development  of  the  Island,  The 
Church  of  Ireland  has  since  that  time  been  free  from 
State  interference. 


78  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


CHAPTER  V 
Remedial  Measures  of  Importance 

Progressive  legislation. — The  Land  Acts,  between  1870  and 
1909,  and  their  results. — Sir  Horace  Plunkett's  Co-operative 
plans. — The  Irish  Agricultural  Society. — Congested  Districts' 
Board. — Laborers'  cottages. — The  Recess  Committee. — Local 
Government,  1908,  and  its  working. — Irish  Universities. — 
Secondary  education. — Gaelic  League. 

|HERE  is  no  question  that  Ireland's  wel- 
fare from  the  beginning  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  has  been  given  a  large  place  in 
the  deliberations  of  Parliament,  and  that 
statesmen  of  every  class  and  creed  have  been 
anxious  to  see  her  succeed  and  prosper.  Along  with 
the  desire  and  efforts  of  many  of  the  Irish  for  a  Home 
Rule  measure  went  the  desire  for  economic  success; 
and  while  the  first  has  not  been  attained  to  the  extent 
that  the  present  majority  leaders  claim  as  a  right,  yet 
the  second  has  been  making  great  strides  forward  and 
receiving  substantial  support  not  only  from  the  Gov- 
ernment but  also  from  Irishmen  themselves,  outside 
Government  circles  and  without  party  or  political 
distinction.  This  is  one  of  the  most  encouraging 
aspects  of  the  country  which  in  the  early  days  of  the 
war  received  from  a  Parliamentary  leader  the  com- 
pliment of  being,  "the  one  bright  spot"  of  the  Empire ; 
and  who  knows  what  may  result  from  this  generous 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 79 

attitude  and  support  in  the  future.  The  account  of 
Ireland's  life  in  the  foregoing  pages,  brief,  as  it  neces- 
sarily had  to  be,  and  with  only  a  wish  to  state  the 
salient  points  by  which  perhaps  those  who  are  not 
quite  familiar  with  Ireland's  history  might  arrive  at 
an  understanding  of  the  present,  shows  that,  at  the 
time  of  the  Union  there  was  large  opportunity  for 
development  and  progress  in  the  whole  life  of  the 
people.  That  opportunity  was  to  some  extent  em- 
braced in  the  next  forty-five  years,  but  from  that  time 
to  this  the  march  of  progress,  aided  and  strengthened 
by  favorable  legislation  and  large  grants  of  money, 
is  really  marvellous. 

Those  who  made  the  chief  efforts  in  the  early  days 
are  to  be  thanked  for  their  ability  in  recognizing  the 
proper  place  where  reformation  should  begin,  and  for 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  place  which  has  already 
borne  gratifying  results  and  has  influenced  every  side 
of  Irish  life.  The  purchase  of  land  by  the  tenant  has 
contributed  largely  to  the  success  of  other  movements ; 
and  to  the  highly  prosperous  condition  of  the  country 
to-day.  Before  the  Land  Act  of  1870,  most  of  the 
farmers  in  Ireland  held  their  land  from  year  to  year 
according  to  the  pleasure  of  the  landlord,  who  if  his 
tenants  failed  to  pay  their  rent  simply  dispossessed 
them  and  rented  the  land  to  others.  In  some  instances 
it  made  no  difference  whether  they  paid  their  rent 
promptly  or  not,  if  the  landlord  decided  to  take  the 
land  from  them  out  they  went  and  that  was  the  end  of 
it.    The  farms  in  most  cases  were  very  small,  and  in 


80  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

many  instances  were  divided  into  sections — ^with  a 
field  here  or  there  perhaps  in  the  middle  of  somebody 
else's  land — which  made  the  cultivation  and  upkeep, 
as  far  as  these  went,  difficult  and  expensive.  The  far- 
mer who  took  interest  in  his  farm  and  improved  it, 
was  usually  rewarded  in  the  form  of  an  increase  of 
rent,  and,  consequently,  except  where  a  mutual  under- 
standing between  landlord  and  tenant  had  been 
arrived  at,  there  was  little  or  no  land  improvement. 
The  tenure  was  too  uncertain  to  warrant  the  tenant's 
putting  anything  into  the  land,  while  on  the  other 
hand  this  uncertainty  filled  him  with  a  desire  to  get 
everything  possible  out  of  it  with  the  least  expense 
and  trouble.  The  result  was  that  the  poor  land  be- 
came poorer,  until  at  the  time  now  stated  a  great  deal 
of  it  was  not  worth  cultivating;  and  the  people  were 
consequently  extremely  poverty  stricken.  After  1860 
the  right  of  contract  was  granted,  by  which  the  tenant 
was  protected  to  some  extent  against  loss  for  improve- 
ments made  by  him  on  his  farm.  This,  while  a  small 
matter,  was  the  beginning  of  a  system  which  has  re- 
sulted in  the  tenants'  becoming  owners  of  the  land,  in 
one  of  the  most  prosperous  countries  in  the  world 
to-day. 

The  next  Land  Act  was  passed  in  1870,  and  was  a 
decided  improvement  upon  the  former,  in  that  it  gave 
the  tenant  the  status  to  a  certain  degree  of  co-owner, 
and  provided  that,  in  case  the  tenant  desired  to  pur- 
chase his  land,  the  Government  would  help  him  to  the 
extent  of  lending  two-thirds  of  the  purchase  money. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 81 

which  should  be  repaid  yearly  at  the  rate  of  five  per 
cent,  on  the  amount  advanced.  Of  this  provision  a 
great  many  took  advantage,  who,  together  with  those 
who  later  took  advantage  of  the  still  more  generous 
Act  of  1881,  amounted  to  1600  tenants — while  the 
amount  lent  by  the  Government  under  these  two  Acts 
amounted  to  about  £800,000. 

In  1881  a  Land  Act  was  passed,  under  which  the 
Government  agreed  to  advance  three-quarters  of  the 
purchase  money;  and  also  to  make  provision  for  the 
settling  of  rents,  from  time  to  time  between  landlord 
and  tenant,  by  the  creation  of  a  court  for  hearing 
appeals  for  rent  reduction.  This  Act  made  the  land- 
lord and  the  tenant  joint  owners,  and  forbade  any  in- 
crease in  rent  owing  to  improvements  made  by  the 
tenant.  A  large  number  availed  themselves  of  the 
provisions  of  this  law,  and  reductions  of  twenty  and 
thirty  per  cent,  were  made  in  many  cases.  The  meas- 
ure greatly  helped  to  relieve  the  strain  of  the  people, 
and  to  lessen  the  outcry  against  landlordism  that  had 
prevailed  heretofore. 

In  1885  the  famous  "Ashbourne  Act"  was  passed 
by  which  £5,000,000  were  voted  toward  enabling 
tenants  to  buy  their  farms  outright,  the  amount  lent 
to  be  paid  back  by  the  borrowers  in  small  amounts. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  Judicial  Rents  Law  of  1881, 
many  farmers  took  advantage  of  this  generous  aid 
and  bought  out  their  farms,  which  resulted  in  a  new 
life  and  a  decided  interest  in  the  care  of  the  land  and 
its  improvements.    A  little  later  another  £5,000,000 


82 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

grant  was  made   by   Parliament  for  this   purpose. 

In  1903  an  Act,  known  as  the  "Wyndham  Act,"  was 
passed  with  a  view  to  expediting  land  purchase,  be- 
cause under  former  laws  landlords  and  tenants  were 
not  always  willing  to  agree  on  the  price  to  be  paid, 
and,  consequently,  certain  efforts  to  sell  and  to  buy 
resulted  in  failure.  The  government  now  donated 
£12,000,000  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  the  prices 
the  tenants  offered  for  the  farms  up  to  the  prices  de- 
manded by  the  landlords,  when  the  demand  was  con- 
sidered reasonable.  It  was  provided  that  in  future 
"estates"  and  not  single  holdings  as  formerly  were 
to  be  sold;  and  three  Commissioners  were  appointed 
for  the  carrying  out  of  the  plan.  In  less  than  five 
years  the  government  had  advanced  for  sales  of  land 
under  this  Act  more  than  £80,000,000.  An  Act 
passed  in  1909  created  a  relationship  between  the 
Congested  Districts  Board  and  the  Estates  Commis- 
sioners, by  which  definite  regions  should  be  recog- 
nized for  the  operations  of  each. 

These  Land  Acts  have  been  instrumental  in  creating 
a  new  order  and  a  new  life  in  Ireland.  The  former 
tenants  of  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  land  are  now 
owners  of  their  farms;  and  as  a  result  of  this  pro- 
prietorship, and  of  further  government  aid  mentioned 
hereafter,  the  land  is  cultivated  in  the  most  modern 
fashion  and  yields  highly-gratifying  returns.  The 
former  landlords,  whose  houses  and  demesnes  were 
secured  to  them,  continue  to  live  in  Ireland  and  to  in- 
vest their  money  in  Irish  enterprises.     The  Govern- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 83 

ment  still  continue  to  encourage  the  farmers,  who  have 
not  done  so,  to  buy  their  land,  and  have  provided  over 
£100,000,000  to  be  used  in  effecting  such  sales. 
What  wonder  then  that  Professor  M.  Bonn,  of  Munich 
University,  should  have  written  these  words,  ex- 
tremely complimentary  to  the  Government  and  truly 
descriptive  of  the  condition  to-day:  "The  Irish  tenants 
have  had  conditions  assured  to  them  more  favorable 
than  any  other  tenantry  in  the  world  enjoy." 

While  the  various  Land  Acts  were  being  passed, 
and  a  new  spirit  of  hopefulness  and  thrift  was  begin- 
ning to  manifest  itself,  there  came  a  prophet  to  the 
people  with  a  message  and  a  plan  for  the  immediate 
betterment  of  the  country,  by  what  may  be  properly 
called  "self-help,"  in  Irish  industrial  and  economic 
enterprises.  The  enunciator  of  this  message  had  spent 
several  years  in  America,  where  he  had  watched  the 
development  of  the  people,  the  reclaiming  of  land, 
and  the  most  up-to-date  systems  in  producing  and 
marketing  to  the  best  advantage  of  the  farmers  them- 
selves; and,  when  he  returned  to  Ireland,  he,  with  a 
few  supporters,  evolved  a  plan  for  Ireland,  which, 
although  not  immediately  successful,  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time  proved  its  need  and  its  value.  Sir 
Horace  Plunkett,  in  his  plan  of  "Co-operation"  among 
farmers,  inaugurated  a  movement  in  1889  that  has 
had  the  greatest  influence  for  good  upon  the  life  of 
the  people,  and  the  development  through  self-help 
of  their  enormous  industrial  and  economic  resources ; 
and  so  highly  were  the  results  of  the  movement  appre- 


84 THE    IRISH    TANGLE        

ciated  abroad,  that,  within  a  few  years  inquiry  came 
from  France,  Canada,  the  United  States  and  other 
countries  as  to  the  ways  and  means  of  attaining  these 
desirable  results.  In  these  matters  Sir  Horace  Plun- 
kett  really  "put  Ireland  on  the  map,"  and  to  their 
working  he  has  devoted  practically  all  his  life  since; 
and,  in  view  of  his  vision  and  service,  it  is  hard  to  un- 
derstand that  he  is  now  without  the  backing  of  any 
political  party  of  importance.  True,  like  others,  he 
has  changed  his  views  from  time  to  time  regarding  the 
whole  Irish  question.  In  his  office  in  Merion  Square, 
Dublin,  this  patriot  may  be  found  year  after  year, 
working  many  hours  more  than  the  eight-hour  limit 
daily,  without  price,  and  with  no  other  end  in  view 
than  the  unity  and  welfare  of  his  country;  and  over 
his  desk  there  hangs  a  portrait  of  a  friend,  the  late 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  who,  like  Sir  Horace  himself, 
received  no  small  inspiration  and  power  for  the  work 
to  which  he  devoted  his  life,  during  the  years  he  spent 
in  the  Western  part  of  America. 

In  those  days  the  farmers  in  Ireland  were  going 
along  in  the  old  ways,  each  acting  independently  of  the 
rest  and  getting  all  he  could  for  the  produce  of  his 
farm,  and  paying  the  highest  price  for  the  necessaries 
of  life,  farm  implements,  and  all  things  necessary  for 
carrying  on  his  work.  His  old  methods  of  business 
were  too  cumbrous  and  too  expensive  to  allow  of  his 
entering  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  claiming  recog- 
nition of  his  goods,  even  if  he  possessed  all  the  enter- 
prise possible,  with  a  result  that  there  were  few  large 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  85 

industries  throughout  Ireland  to  encourage  and  de- 
velop the  possibilities  within  Ireland's  own  hands.  It 
was  no  easy  matter  to  revolutionize  a  system  that  had 
taken  such  hold  of  the  people,  especially  in  view 
of  the  fact,  that  the  effort  for  improvement  and  the 
money  to  effect  it  were  not  to  be  expected  from  outside 
sources  but  from  the  people  themselves. 

The  education  along  this  line  progressed  rather 
satisfactorily  after  a  while,  and  soon  the  farmers  were 
listening  to  the  reasonableness  of  the  plea  and  pre- 
paring for  active  co-operation.  All  liked  the  idea  of 
being  able  to  buy  their  goods  and  implements  at  a 
wholesale  rate,  and  welcomed  the  suggestion  of  using 
the  best  and  most  modern  machinery ;  and  they  agreed 
that  they  themselves  should  have  the  profits  resulting 
from  their  labors.  To  have  these,  and  other  results, 
combination  was  necessary;  combination  of  effort, 
combination  of  product  and  combination  of  capital. 
The  test  of  the  principle,  which,  of  course,  had  been 
condemned  from  many  angles  in  Ireland  as  a  plan 
which  might  work  well  in  other  countries  but  not 
there,  was  at  length  made  in  connection  with  an  in- 
dustry that  seemed  well  suited  to  development  at  the 
time,  that  of  dairying.  Already  capitalists  had 
erected  creameries  here  and  there  to  which  the 
Irish  farmer  brought  his  milk — being  thus  relieved  as 
he  thought  of  the  trouble  of  butter-making — and  re- 
ceived such  price  in  return  as  the  creamery  cared  to 
pay.  A  co-operative  creamery  was  established;  a 
building  was  erected  and  equipped;  stock  valued  at 


86 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

£1.0.0  per  share  was  taken  by  the  farmers;  whatever 
money  was  necessary  to  bring  the  amount  realized 
from  the  sale  of  stock  up  to  the  cost  of  building  and 
equipping  was  borrowed  at  the  rate  of  four  per  cent. ; 
and  the  self-help  movement  entered  upon  a  career  of 
usefulness  and  profit.  In  the  financing  of  new  plants 
the  society  later  borrowed  whatever  money  was  re- 
quired, above  the  stock  sales,  from  joint  stock  banks 
organized  in  connection  with  the  general  plan.  These 
banks  also  lent  money  to  farmers  at  a  much  lower 
rate  of  interest  than  prevailed  elsewhere. 

The  working  of  the  plan  was  made  easy  from  the 
beginning.  To  the  creamery,  which  was  kept  under 
the  care  of  skilled  assistants,  the  farmers  brought  their 
milk  and  received  their  price,  and  after  the  butter  was 
made  the  buttermilk  was  given  to  them.  The  butter 
was  sold  by  the  creamery  at  the  best  price  and  in  large 
quantities,  and  whatever  money  remained,  after  pay- 
ing the  necessary  expenses,  was  divided  among  the 
share-holders.  In  this  way  the  farmer,  and  he  alone, 
profited  by  the  whole  transaction.  It  did  not  take  long 
to  have  a  just  appreciation  of  the  system  take  root 
in  the  farmers'  minds,  and  as  a  result  co-operative 
creameries  quickly  appeared  in  many  districts.  The 
chief  leaders  now  realized  that  the  growth  and  de- 
mand necessitated  a  larger  scope  for  activity,  and  a 
number  of  allied  branches  under  the  care  of  the 
parent  society. 

In  1894  the  "Irish  Agricultural  Organization  So- 
ciety" was  formed,  and  soon  the  co-operative  move- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 87 

ment  extended  its  attention  to  almost  everything  in 
connection  with  the  farm.,  including  agricultural  so- 
cieties for  purchasing  farm  requirements,  poultry  so- 
cieties, banks,  home-industries  and  libraries. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  by  the  end  of  1903,  over 
eight  hundred  societies  of  one  kind  or  another  were 
established  on  the  co-operative  basis;  360  were 
dairy,  140  agricultural  societies,  nearly  200  agricul- 
tural banks,  50  home  industries  societies,  40  poultry 
societies,  40  others  had  miscellaneous  objects,  and 
the  whole  a  membership  of  80,000,  representing  some 
400,000  persons. 

Anyone  interested  in  this  movement,  which  has 
done  so  much  for  Ireland,  should  read  that  admir- 
able book,  "Ireland  in  the  New  Century,"  by  Sir 
Horace  Plunkett;  and  also  "Ireland  of  To-day,"  Lon- 
don Times,  1913. 

In  1891,  two  years  after  the  co-operative  move- 
ment was  put  forth,  the  Chief  Secretary,  Mr.  Arthur 
Balfour,  had  a  Bill  brought  into  Parliament  the  pur- 
pose of  which  was  to  give  aid  to  the  densely  settled 
parts  of  Ireland  in  securing  for  the  people  lands  and 
homes  in  nearby  districts,  in  improving  the  housing 
conditions,  and  in  starting  industries  to  afford  employ- 
ment. In  a  tour  made  of  the  Northwestern  parts  of 
the  coast  line  in  1890,  Mr.  Balfour  discovered  that  in 
several  places  the  population  was  so  large  that  the 
land  under  the  most  efficient  system  of  cultivation 
could  not  produce  food  enough  to  guarantee  them 
from  want,  and  that  in  certain  times  of  the  year,  par- 


88 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

ticularly  in  winter,  there  was  really  no  opportunity 
of  earning  money  owing  to  the  dearth  of  industrial 
enterprise.  In  the  Act  accepted  by  Parliament  an 
organization,  known  as  the  "Congested  Districts 
Board,"  was  created  and  endowed  with  £1,500,000, 
which  came  from  the  disestablishing  of  the  Church 
of  Ireland  in  1870.  The  Board  had  the  power  to  do 
almost  anything  they  thought  best  in  connection  with 
the  improvement  of  the  land  and  the  welfare  of  the 
people;  and  soon  their  aid  reached  into  buying  and 
selling  land,  improving  housing  conditions,  estab- 
lishing local  industries,  fishing  and  cattle-raising,  and 
a  score  of  other  channels,  including  schools  for  tech- 
nical instruction.  Soon,  however,  some  of  the  work 
of  this  Board  was  transferred  to  another,  under  whose 
jurisdiction  it  logically  came ;  and  the  annual  income 
increased  from  about  £41,500,  to  £231,000  by  the 
end  of  1913.  Teachers  and  demonstrators  were  sent 
among  the  people  to  show  them  how  to  care  for  the 
land  and  live  stock,  and  how  to  rotate  crops  to  the 
best  advantage.  One  item  of  the  Board's  achieve- 
ments is  especially  noteworthy,  the  purchasing  of 
Clare  Island  and  the  removing  and  locating  of  sev- 
eral families  there  on  fairly-large  farms  at  nominal 
rents.  The  Board  spent  over  £150,000  in  improving 
the  live-stock  and  poultry  in  the  district  designated 
for  its  operations.  Practical  instruction  was  given 
to  fishermen,  who  were  helped  in  making  and  buying 
boats  and  tackle;  classes  were  formed  for  crochet 
and  lace  making,  for  knitting,  weaving;  and  every- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 89 

thing  possible  was  done  toward  making  the  people 
self-reliant  and  self-sustaining.  To  help  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Ireland,  a  Light  Railways  Bill  was 
passed  by  Parliament  in  1895.  The  building  of  these 
railroads  through  the  sparsely  settled  districts  gave 
the  farmer  a  quick,  if  not  a  very  cheap,  way  of  mar- 
keting his  goods;  and,  also,  during  their  construction 
gave  remunerative  employment  to  many  people  in 
those  districts.  Although  these  railroads  have  ren- 
dered great  aid,  yet  there  is  room  for  many  more,  and 
for  a  reduction  in  rates  for  transportation  throughout 
the  country,  no  matter  who  provides  the  money. 

Since  1883  the  lot  of  the  agricultural  laborer  has 
been  greatly  improved  not  only  in  the  matter  of 
wages,  but  also  in  the  matter  of  housing  throughout 
Ireland.  The  Government  in  approving  of  all  efforts 
toward  providing  a  more  comfortable  home  for  the 
poor  laborer,  has  advanced  £9,000,000  at  low  in- 
terest for  this  object,  with  most  gratifying  results. 
Through  the  Rural  District  Councils  a  large  part 
of  this  money  has  been  spent  in  building  about  50,000 
comfortable  cottages,  and  providing  an  acre  of 
ground  to  go  with  each  house.  These  houses,  slated 
or  tiled,  with  gardens  nicely  kept,  are  a  great  improve- 
ment upon  the  thatched  cabins  of  old  and  help  to  give 
the  country  a  progressive  and  comfortable  aspect. 

During  the  period  between  Mr.  Gladstone's  second 
Home  Rule  Bill  and  the  Home  Rule  Bill  of  1912,  the 
Irish  question  occupied  the  attention  of  many  states- 
men and  others  who  were  desirous  of  solving  the  mat- 


90 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

ter  at  the  earliest  moment;  and,  after  the  General 
Election  of  1895,  a  definite  movement  to  this  end 
was  commenced  by  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  in  a  letter 
to  the  Irish  Press,  headed:  "A  Proposal  affecting  the 
general  welfare  of  Ireland,"  in  which  he  advocated 
the  uniting  of  all  parties  and  creeds  for  the  indus- 
trial development  and  educational  advancement  of 
the  country.  This,  Sir  Horace  believed,  would  solve 
the  whole  difficulty,  and  in  due  time  bring  to  the 
country  whatever  kind  of  rule  the  people  desired. 
"We  Unionists,"  he  wrote,  "without  abating  one  jot 
of  our  Unionism,  and  we  Nationalists,  without  abating 
one  jot  of  our  Nationalism,  can  each  show  our  faith  in 
the  cause  for  which  we  have  fought  so  bitterly  and 
so  long  by  sinking  our  party  differences  for  our  coun- 
try's good,  and  leaving  our  respective  policies  for  the 
justification  of  time."  This  touching  appeal  worked; 
and  in  a  short  time  men  of  every  political  party  and 
creed  were  brought  together  to  deliberate  in  their 
country's  welfare.  It  was  a  wonderful  and  un- 
paralleled event,  reminding  one  somewhat  of  the 
response  given  to  Dean  Swift's  appeal  when  he  called 
Ireland  to  oppose  the  base  coinage  arrangement,  and 
gave  great  promise  for  the  future.  Inquiry  regarding 
industrial  and  agricultural  matters  was  instituted  in 
different  countries,  and  in  due  time  this  Committee, 
known  as  the  "Recess  Committee,"  suggested  certain 
desirable  legislation  to  the  government.  It  was  pro- 
posed that  a  new  Department  should  be  created,  and 
endowed,  to  administer  State  aid  to  agriculture  and 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 91 

other  industries,  with  a  special  minister  directly  re- 
sponsible to  Parliament,  and  with  a  consultative  com- 
mittee representing  those  chiefly  concerned. 

Mr.  Gerald  Balfour,  the  head  of  the  Unionist  Gov- 
ernment at  the  time,  approved  most  heartily  of  the 
plan,  and  soon  a  Bill  was  passed  by  Parliament  en- 
acting the  suggestions  of  the  "Recess  Committee," 
creating,  "a  Department  of  Agriculture  and  other 
Industries  and  Technical  Instruction  in  Ireland." 
Under  the  provisions  of  this  Act  several  offices  were 
created,  and  the  President  made  responsible  to  Par- 
liament; a  number  of  Boards  were  brought  under 
the  care  of  the  Department;  and  the  Department  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  various  agencies  for  disburs- 
ing Government  aid  and  for  meeting  the  peculiar  re- 
quirements of  various  parts  of  the  country.  Differ- 
ent Boards  were  to  look  after  the  various  industries, 
and  to  their  care  were  transferred,  from  South  Ken- 
sington, grants  for  Arts  and  Science,  and  the  Agri- 
cultural Institutes  at  Glesneven  and  Cork.  A  general 
Council  was  created  of  about  one  hundred  members, 
who  meet  every  year  for,  "discussing  matters  of  pub- 
lic interest  in  connection  with  any  of  the  purposes  of 
this  Act,"  two-thirds  of  whom  are  appointed  by  the 
local  County  and  other  Councils — created  about  the 
same  time  under  the  Local  Government  Act.  The 
Department  has  an  annual  income  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  £197,000,  and  a  sinking  fund  of  £200,000. 
The  work  of  the  Department  "consists  of  direct  aid 
to  agriculture  and  other  rural  industries,  and  to  sea 


92 THE    IRISH    TANGLE     

and  inland  fisheries,"  and,  of  indirect  aid  to  these 
objects  and  also  to  town  manufactories  and  com- 
merce, through  education — a  term  which  must  be 
interpreted  in  its  widest  sense.  In  short,  the  work  of 
the  Department  extends  into  every  phase  of  Irish  life, 
and  has  a  most  beneficial  effect  throughout  the  coun- 
try. It  teaches  self-help  first,  and  secondly  it  puts  the 
people  themselves  in  practical  control  of  their  own 
interests  and  helps  them  to  greater  activity  and 
success. 

While  the  Department  just  noted  was  being  pro- 
jected, another  move  for  Ireland's  betterment  was 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  Prime  Minister  and 
Parliament.  Home  Rule  had  been  badly  defeated, 
and  there  seemed  little  hope  to  those  in  power  for  a 
measure  of  that  kind;  but  there  was  hope  for  a  dif- 
ferent kind  of  Home  Rule,  that  would  fit  into,  or 
help  in  giving  administering  machinery  to,  the  Con- 
gested Districts  Board  and  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  other  Industries  and  Technical  Instruc- 
tion in  Ireland,  and,  therefore,  the  Local  Government 
Bill  of  1908  was  passed.  In  all  efforts  for  construc- 
tive legislation  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  anything 
better  than  these  Laws,  which  not  only  met  the  press- 
ing needs  of  the  hour,  but  also  established  an  order 
for  the  rulhig  of  different  districts  of  Ireland  by  the 
people  according  to  their  wishes,  and  the  developing 
of  home  resources  by  the  people's  skill,  strength  and 
money. 

The    Local    Government    Act    made    a    complete 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 93 

change  in  the  government  of  Ireland,  and  legislated 
out  of  existence  the  old  system  of  Grand  Juries  which 
had  obtained  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  replac- 
ing it  by  a  system  of  Local  Government  similar  to  that 
in  operation  in  England.  Nomination  to  office  was 
generally  speaking  put  to  an  end,  and  election  sub- 
stituted. Local  Boards,  County,  Borough  and  Dis- 
trict Councils  were  set  up,  and  the  people  were  given 
complete  control  of  local  matters,  such  as  taxes, 
schools  for  technical  instruction,  laborers'  cottages, 
roads,  bridges,  poor  law  matters,  the  election  of 
guardians,  dispensary  doctors,  nurses,  magistrates, 
and  the  representatives  on  the  various  boards  called 
into  existence  by  the  Act.  This  Act  gave  the  people 
practically  the  same  kind  of  Local  Rule  that  England, 
Wales  and  Scotland  enjoyed,  and  they  are  using  its 
provisions  according  to  their  own  wishes.  It  can  no 
longer  be  said  that  they  did  not  select  their  Town, 
County  and  District  officers,  for  under  this  Act  no 
one  else  has  any  right  to  do  so. 

The  Act  did  not  come  into  existence  without  some 
opposition,  however,  especially  from  the  Northern 
Unionists,  who  protested  that  if  the  Nationalists — 
who  had  the  majority  vote,  of  course — secured  charge 
in  local  matters,  the  Unionists  would  be  put  out  of 
office,  and  their  interests  would  not  receive  fair  rep- 
resentation. Mr.  John  Redmond  tried  to  assure  these 
Northern  objectors  "that  the  Nationalists  would  use 
all  their  power  and  influence  to  see  it  worked  in  a 
spirit  of  toleration,  and  of  justice  to  all  creeds  and 


94 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

classes,  and  he  promised  the  minority  a  fair,  and 
even  a  generous  share  of  representation  on  the  new 
bodies;"  but,  as  events  turned  out,  this  platform  was 
not  put  into  effect  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Unionists 
generally,  who  point  out  that,  except  in  Ulster,  where 
there  is  a  slight  majority  in  favor  of  the  Unionists,  in 
Munster,  Leinster  and  Connaught  there  were  only 
15  Unionists  in  the  24  County  Councils,  while  there 
were  684  Nationalists.  Of  course,  this  is  the  result 
of  the  working  out  of  Local  Government  by  the  peo- 
ple themselves,  who  alone  are  responsible  for  their 
choice  in  such  matters;  but  it  has  given  the  Unionists 
greater  strength  in  their  opposition  to  Home  Rule,  as 
they  point  to  Local  Government  Elections,  as  samples 
of  the  treatment  which  would  be  accorded  them  un- 
der a  larger  Home  Rule  policy.  Many  Irishmen, 
some  of  them  Nationalists,  greatly  regret  that  the 
Unionists  were  not  given  a  larger  representation  by 
the  people  when  putting  the  provisions  of  the  Local 
Government  Act  into  operation,  if  for  no  other  rea- 
son than  to  show  the  Unionists  that  their  fears  of  old 
were  not  well  grounded;  but  now  the  Unionists  say, 
"See  what  treatment  is  given  us  by  Local  Government, 
and  we  believe  that  under  Home  Rule  our  treatment 
would  be  even  worse." 

Sir  Horace  Plunkett  has  this  to  say  on  the  subject: 
"To  the  great  vista  of  useful  patriotic  work  opened 
up  by  the  Act  of  1898,  to  the  impression  that  a  proper 
use  of  that  Act  might  make  on  Northern  opinion  they 
(the  Nationalist  leaders)  were  blind,"  and,  he  goes 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 95 

on  to  say,  "Under  any  system  of  limited  Home  Rule 
questions  would  arise  which  would  afford  much  the 
same  sort  of  justification  for  the  employment  of  such 
methods,  and  they  could  hardly  be  worse  for  the  wel- 
fare of  the  country  than  they  are  now" — 1904.  This 
Act,  like  the  Irish  Convention  which  reported  in  1918, 
gave  Ireland  a  golden  opportunity  to  work  out  her 
own  problems  without  hindrance  of  creed  or  party, 
but,  alas,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Convention,  the  golden 
opportunity  was  not  embraced,  and  men  settled  down 
to  a  more  determined  loyalty  to  party  and  loyalty  to 
men  of  their  own  creed  than  had  been  observed  for 
many  years.  The  working  out  of  the  Act  of  1898, 
instead  of  bringing  unity  and  peace  to  the  whole 
country,  has  resulted  in  driving  in  the  old  marks  of 
cleavage  and  in  encouraging  bitterness  and  distrust. 
The  matter  of  higher  and  secondary  education  has 
received  a  fair  share  of  attention  during  the  past 
fifty  years  in  Ireland,  In  1908  Mr.  Birrell  intro- 
duced a  Bill  into  Parliament,  known  as  the  Irish 
University  Bill,  which  brought  University  training 
within  reach  of  the  average  man  irrespective  of  creed 
or  party.  Previously  there  had  existed  in  Dublin, 
since  1591,  Trinity  College,  with  a  wonderful  history 
of  ups  and  downs,  but  for  nearly  two  hundred  years 
its  doors  were  practically  closed  to  Roman  Catholics. 
When  about  1850  Queens  University  was  formed  in 
Dublin,  and  Queens  Colleges  in  Belfast,  Cork  and 
Galway,  the  Roman  Catholic  people  did  not  look 
favorably  upon  them,  although  they  were  open  to  all 


96 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

comers,  and  consequently  they  were  not  used  by  a 
great  majority  of  the  people.  The  College  in  Dublin 
gave  place  duly  to  another,  the  Royal  University, 
which  continued  its  work  until  Mr.  BirrelFs  Bill  of 
1908.  Under  the  new  law  Trinity  College  remained 
as  heretofore,  Belfast  College  was  placed  on  a  special 
basis,  and  Dublin,  Cork  and  Galway  Colleges  were 
grouped  together  as  the  National  University  of  Ire- 
land. Each  of  these  three  Colleges  is  independent  of 
the  others,  while  a  Senate,  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  each  and  chiefly  Roman  Catholics,  govern 
their  general  policy.  With  these  three  Colleges  May- 
nooth  has  been  affiliated,  so  that  in  fact  there  are  four 
distinct  Colleges  in  the  National  University  system. 
For  the  endowment  of  this  University  the  British 
Government  provides  £74,000  per  year,  and  provided 
£170,000  for  building  and  equipment.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  state  that  in  the  National  University  no 
religious  tests  obtain,  although  the  directing  power  is 
almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Roman  Catholics. 
One  of  the  subjects  required  in  entrance  examina- 
tions is  the  Irish  language. 

In  1831  the  Board  of  National  Education  was 
established  after  a  select  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons  had  reported  that  it  is  "of  the  utmost  im- 
portance to  bring  together  children  of  diff'erent  re- 
ligious persuasions  in  Ireland  for  the  purpose  of 
instructing  them  in  the  general  subjects  of  moral  and 
literary  knowledge,  and  providing  facilities  for  their 
religious  instruction  separately  when  differences  of 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 97 

creed  render  it  impracticable  for  them  to  receive  re- 
ligious instruction  together."  The  plan  did  not  suit 
any  party,  owing  to  the  religious  provision;  and  the 
whole  system  of  primary  education  was  condemned 
by  a  Commission,  and  by  individuals,  as  late  as  1896. 
Under  the  Intermediate  Education  Acts  of  1878  and 
1899,  twelve  persons,  six  Roman  Catholics  and  six 
others,  were  appointed  a  Board  to  administer  the 
interest  on  the  £1,000,000  given  from  the  funds  of 
the  disestablished  Church  of  Ireland,  as  grants  to 
schools  whose  scholars  attained  a  certain  proficiency 
in  public  examinations  conducted  by  members  of  the 
Board.  This  plan,  too,  is  unsatisfactory  to  a  large 
number,  who  promise  to  do  away  with  the  whole 
system  of  secondary  education  if  ever  they  have  an 
opportunity.  Speed  the  day;  for  many  believe  that 
while  the  present  system  has  done  a  great  deal  of 
good,  it  is  possible  to  have  a  more  advantageous  sys- 
tem put  in  its  place.  After  this  system  of  elementary 
education  was  inaugurated  the  Irish  language  seemed 
to  fall  into  disuse.  In  1911  only  16,000  people  were 
reported  as  speaking  only  that  language.  Mr.  Doug- 
las Hyde,  who  has  done  so  much  toward  bringing  the 
Irish  language  again  into  use,  has  this  to  say  on  the 
subject,  "The  killing  of  the  language  took  place  under 
the  eye  of  O'Connell  and  the  Parliamentarians,  and, 
of  course,  under  the  eye  and  with  the  sanction  of  the 
Catholic  priesthood  and  prelates."  It  is  also  worthy 
of  note  that  the  Irish  language  had  been  taught  in  the 
schools  from  1879,  and  that  a  special  premium  is 


98 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

now  paid  to  the  teachers  of  this  subject  at  the  rate  of 
ten  shillings  for  each  pupil,  just  twice  as  much  as  is 
paid  for  the  teaching  of  Latin  or  music.  Since  1901, 
"£12,000  per  year  has  been  paid  for  Irish  teaching 
directly  from  Imperial  funds  .  .  .  Taking 
the  direct  expenditure  on  elementary  education  alone, 
the  State  has  paid  for  Irish  teaching  since  1879  a 
sum  of  no  less  than  £209,000."— See  T.  W.  RoUes- 
ton's  "Ireland  and  Poland;  a  Comparison."  The 
Gaelic  League,  founded  in  1893,  has  accomplished 
much  in  popularizing  the  Irish  language,  literature, 
art  and  music.  Its  principles  are  non-political  and 
non-sectarian;  and  to  its  chief  sponsor,  Mr.  Douglas 
Hyde,  the  whole  Irish  people  are  deeply  indebted. 
In  writing  of  this  movement,  one  of  Ireland's  devoted 
sons  has  stated,  "I  believe  that  by  awakening  the 
feelings  of  pride,  self-respect,  and  love  of  country, 
based  on  knowledge,  every  department  of  Irish  life 
will  be  invigorated." 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  99 


CHAPTER   VI 
Home  Rule  and  the  1916  Rebellion 

"Home  Rule"  and  Parnell. — The  Gladstone  Bills,  and 
Opposition. — House  of  Loris  disciplined. — The  Asquith  Bill, 
1910,  and  Ulster's  Pledge. — Sinn  Fein's  Volunteers. — Ulster 
Volunteers. — Sinn  Fein's  beginning;  and  attitude  toward  the 
Home  Rule  bill. — Sinn  Fein  and  the  War. — Sir  Roger  Case- 
ment and  Germany. — Destruction  Wrought  by  1916 
Rebellion. — Redmond's  Volunteers. — Mr.  Asquith's  visit, 
and  payment  for  damage. — The  Effect  of  the  Rebellion  in 
the  Empire;  in  Ireland;  and  in  Germany  and  Austria. — Argu- 
ments for  Home  Rule,  and  the  appeal  to  President  Wilson. 
— The  Ulster  rejoinder,  and  arguments  against  Home  Rule. 

HE  term  "Home  Rule,"  first  applied  in 
1874  to  the  independence  that  Mr.  Isaac 
Butt  sought,  has  since  been  broadened 
and  used  so  as  to  define  complete  sepa- 
ration of  Ireland  from  the  British  Empire.  Mr. 
Isaac  Butt  determined  to  secure  semi-independence 
for  Ireland  by  bringing  a  resolution  to  that  effect  be- 
fore every  session  of  Parliament;  but  this  method  did 
not  satisfy  the  majority  of  his  party,  and  he  was  soon 
succeeded  in  leadership  by  Mr.  Charles  Stewart  Par- 
nell, who  had  a  larger  idea  for  Ireland  which  he  dis- 
closed in  the  words,  now  inscribed  on  his  monument 
in  Dublin,  "No  man  has  a  right  to  fix  the  boundary 
to  the  march  of  a  nation:  no  man  has  a  right  to  say 
to  his  country,  'Thus  far  shalt  thou  go  and  no  farther.' 
We  have  never  attempted  to  fix  the  ne  plus  ultra  to 


100  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

the  progress  of  Ireland's  nationhood,  and  we  never 
shall."  With  a  view  toward  securing  a  hearing  for 
Ireland  in  Parliament,  Mr.  Parnell  adopted  a  differ- 
ent plan  from  Mr.  Butt's,  when  he  inaugurated  an 
"obstruction"  policy,  which  meant  talking  against 
time  on  every  matter  that  came  up  for  discussion,  and 
thus  wearying  Parliament  and  preventing  the  speedy 
passage  of  proposed  laws.  In  1879 — the  year  of 
Mr.  Pamell's  rise  to  leadership — the  Land  League 
was  formed,  which,  by  boycotting  and  threatening, 
shooting  and  maiming,  aimed  to  enroll  the  people  in 
a  solid  body  against  the  payment  of  rents  under  the 
systems  then  obtaining.  After  much  violence  and 
destruction  had  resulted  from  the  formation  of  this 
society,  the  Government  passed  a  "Coercion  Act"  by 
which  they  could  deal  with  the  offenders  and  those 
who  were  "reasonably  suspected."  Among  those  who 
were  arrested  under  this  law  was  Mr.  Parnell;  but 
after  a  time  he  was  liberated,  and  the  Coercion  Law 
became  a  dead  letter. 

In  keeping  with  the  policy  of  the  Government  to 
help  and  conciliate  the  people  of  Ireland,  Lord  Fred- 
erick Cavendish,  who  was  sympathetically  inclined 
toward  Ireland,  was  sent  over  as  Chief  Secretary, 
with  Mr.  Thomas  Burke  as  Under  Secretary.  On  the 
6th  of  May,  1882,  these  two  gentlemen  were  murdered 
in  the  Phoenix  Park,  Dublin.  The  whole  world  con- 
demned the  cowardly  crime,  for  which  the  assassins 
were  eventually  punished,  and  for  which  the  country 
was  again  treated  to  Coercion  Law.     In  the  same 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 101 

year  Mr.  Parnell  organized  the  Irish  National  League,  \ 
for  the  advancement  of  Home  Rule  and  the  tenants' ) 
desire  to  own  the  land. 

Mr.  Gladstone,  who  had  gone  out  of  office  in  1885,  ^ 
was  returned  to  power  by  the  General  election  of 
1886,  and  soon  proposed  the  granting  of  Home  Rule 
to  Ireland.     The  Bill  which  he  introduced  provided 
for  a  National  Parliament  in  Ireland,  and  no  repre- 
sentation in  the  British  Parliament,  which  accorded 
with  the  desires  of  most  of  the  Irish  Nationalists,  but 
did  not  meet  the  wishes  of  all  the  Liberal-Gladstonian 
Party.     A  defection  soon  came;  and  those  who  ob- 
jected to  a  separate  Irish  Parliament  became  a  new 
party — Liberal  LInionists.     The  Conservative  party 
then  received  the  support  of  the  Liberal  Unionists,  \ 
with  a  result  that  the  Bill  was   defeated,  and  the  \ 
Liberals  were  turned  out  of  office.     Then  came  the   \ 
Plan  of  Campaign  in  Ireland,  which  meant  the  v/ith- 
holding  of  rents,  if  the  landlord  failed  to  accept  what 
the  tenants  considered  a  fair  amount,  and,  like  simi- 
lar plans,  brought  boycotting  and  lawlessness  in  its 
train.     This  condition  was  met  by  a  Crimes  Act,  by  / 
which  offenders  were  haled  to  court  and  punished. 
The  Land  League  was  soon  suppressed,  and  several 
leaders  were  arrested  and  sent  to  prison. 

Mr.  Gladstone's  second  Home  Rule  Bill  was 
brought  before  Parliament  in  1893.  It  differed  from 
the  former  one  in  that  Ireland  was  not  to  have  an 
independent  Parliament,  but  a  Parliament  for  home 

matters  and  a  fair  representation  in  the  British  Par- 

7 


102 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

liament.  These  provisions  made  it  more  acceptable 
and  secured  a  majority  vote  for  it  in  the  House  of 
Commons.  The  House  of  Lords,  however,  rejected 
it  by  an  overwhelming  majority  and  in  so  doing  rec- 
ognized the  tremendous  opposition  that  had  been 
offered  to  its  enactment,  and  also  to  the  enactment  of 
the  one  of  1886,  by  almost  all  non-Roman  Catholics 
in  Ireland. 

In  1886,  the  General  Synod  of  the  Church  of  Ire- 
land, two  archbishops,  ten  bishops,  two  hundred  and 
eight  clerical  and  four  hundred  and  sixteen  lay  dele- 
gates, representing  over  600,000  through  Ireland, 
passed  resolutions  against  Home  Rule,  as  they  thought 
it  would  be  injurious  to  political  and  religious  liberty. 
The  Primate,  the  late  Dr.  Alexander,  discounted  in 
fiery  eloquence,  the  "assurances"  and  "guarantees" 
spoken  of  by  the  supporters  of  the  bill,  and  stated, 
"It  is  the  thing,  not  the  name,  we  object  to.  Our 
gorge  rises  at  the  tartar  emetic,  though  the  Doctor 
soothingly  calls  it  antimonial  wine.  We  desire  to 
remain  an  integral  part  of  an  imperial  people.  We 
and  our  fathers  have  lived  under  the  shadow  of  a 
great  tree,  the  stately  growth  of  a  thousand  summers. 
We  will  not  exchange  it  for  a  place  under  a  tree  which 
sophists  and  experimentalists  have  taken  a  fancy  to 
plant  head  downwards,  whose  sure  fall  will  crush  us 
amidst  the  inextinguishable  laughter  of  the  world." 
The  General  Synod  of  1893  condemned  Home  Rule, 
in  equally  strong  language.  The  Presbyterians  of 
Ireland,  numbering  560,000,  objected  to  Home  Rule, 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 103 

as  did  61,000  Methodists,  and  thousands  of  others  be- 
longing to  different  religious  bodies — other  than 
Roman  Catholic.  Of  course,  there  were  a  small  num- 
ber of  Roman  Catholics  opposed  to  Home  Rule,  as 
there  were  a  small  number  of  non-Roman  Catholics 
in  favor  of  it;  but,  on  the  whole.  Home  Rule  when- 
ever brought  to  the  front  has  separated  Ireland  ac- 
cording to  the  religion  of  the  people — the  Roman 
Catholics  on  one  side  and  the  non-Roman  Catholics 
on  the  other.  With  those  who  opposed  Home  Rule 
were  the  following  distinguished  bodies:  Dublin 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  Belfast  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, Dublin  Stock  Exchange,  Belfast  Linen  Mer- 
chants' Association,  Fellows  of  the  Royal  College  of 
Surgeons,  the  Senate  of  Dublin  University,  and  rep- 
resentative men  in  every  department  of  business 
enterprise.  The  country  remained  in  a  very  unset-- 
tied  state;  and,  while  the  late  Mr.  Redmond,  the 
Nationalist  leader,  backed  up  by  the  Ancient  Ordei 
of  Hibernians  and  the  United  Irish  League,  relaxec? 
no  effort  both  in  Ireland  and  America,  looking  to< 
ward  the  enactment  of  Home  Rule,  the  Unionist  Party 
were  equally  active  in  taking  steps  to  combat  the  next 
move  in  that  direction.  In  the  meantime  the  govern- 
ment, and  others,  were  directing  more  attention  to 
the  unhappy  state  of  Ireland,  and  were  doing  every- 
thing possible  to  relieve  the  poverty  and  wretched- 
ness of  the  country.  Some  of  the  measures  adopted 
to  that  end  have  received  attention  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 


104 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

During  the  General  Election  of  1910,  the  question 
of  Home  Rule  for  Ireland  was  again  brought  for- 
ward, and  Mr.  Asquith  promised  that,  in  case  the 
Liberals  should  be  returned  to  power  they  would 
grant  it.     This  statement  was  not  made,  however, 

I  until  two-thirds  of  the  candidates  had  been  elected. 
The  political  affiliations  of  the  members  when  Parlia- 
ment convened  were  as  follows:  Liberal,  272; 
Labor,  42;  Nationalist,  84;  Unionist,  272.  From 
these  figures  it  is  clear  that  the  Liberal  Party  needed, 
besides  the  Labor  vote,  the  Irish  Nationalist  vote  to 

/       remain  in  power.     The  balance  of  power,  therefore, 

{        held  by  the  Irish  members  told  greatly  in  the  laws 

\,       that  followed. 

The  Parliament  Act,  by  which  the  House  of  Lords 
ceased  to  hold  the  veto  of  any  act  of  Parliament  that 
had,  within  two  years,  during  three  successive  ses- 
sions, thrice  passed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  came 
into  operation  in  1911,  as  a  disciplinary  measure  for 
the  House  of  Lords  who  had  disapproved  of  the  1893 
Home  Rule  Bill.  By  this  measure,  and  the  holding 
of  the  balance  of  power,  the  Nationalist  Party  be- 
lieved that  nothing  could  prevent  them  from  having 
a  Home  Rule  measure  passed,  except,  possibly,  the 
refusal  of  the  Liberals  to  carry  out  their  pledge,  and 
lost  no  time  in  preparing  the  desired  law.  On  the 
11th  of  April,  1912,  a  new  Home  Rule  Bill  was 
brought  before  the  House  of  Commons,  conferring 
almost  total  independence  on  the  two  houses  of  the 
Irish  Parliament — ^to  be  created;  and  making  pro- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 105 

vision  for  a  representation  of  forty-two  Irish  mem- 
bers in  the  British  Parliament.  A  definite  and  gen- 
erous financial  plan  for  Ireland's  welfare  was  also 
contemplated;  but,  strange  to  say,  the  Bill  was  not 
received  with  favor  by  any  political  party  in  Ireland. 
The  Nationalists,  led  by  Mr.  William  O'Brien,  disap- 
proved of  it,  the  All-Nationalist  Central  County 
Council  condemned  it,  and  the  Unionists  flatly  refused 
to  accept  it.  The  Northern  Unionists,  under  the 
leadership  of  Sir  Edward  Carson,  pledged  themselves 
to  do  everything  to  prevent  its  enforcement,  and  be- 
gan immediately  to  form  an  organization  bound  by 
a  solemn  covenant,  "to  defeat  the  present  conspiracy 
to  set  up  a  Home  Rule  Parliament  in  Ireland,  and  in 
the  event  of  such  a  parliament  being  forced  upon  us 
to  refuse  to  recognize  its  authority." 
Fev/  know  how  many  enrolled  in  this  society,  which 
afterwards  became  known  as  the  Ulster  Volunteers — 
of  whom  a  large  number  joined  the  Ulster  Division 
on  the  declaration  of  war  and  went  to  France  and 
Flanders,  where  they  gave  a  good  account  of  them- 
selves; but  everyone  who  reads  the  newspapers  knows 
that  drilling  and  arming  went  on  quickly,  in  prepara- 
tion for  any  act  that  would  compel  them  to  separate 
from  the  United  Kingdom. 

In  1913  the  Sinn  Fein,  too,  decided  to  organize  a 
body  of  young  men  who  should  be  equal  to  the  Ulster 
Volunteers  and  on  whom  they  could  depend  if  need 
arose.  Accordingly  there  came  into  existence  the 
National  Volunteers,  who  drilled  and  armed  openly 


106 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

without  fear  or  molestation,  and  funds  for  the  move- 
ment came  from  all  parts  of  the  country  and  from 
America.  The  late  Mr.  John  Redmond  took  cog- 
nizance of  the  affairs  of  the  National  Volunteers  at 
this  juncture,  and,  while  he  had  had  no  connection 
with  the  Sinn  Feiners  who  directed  the  Volunteers, 
decided  to  have  a  voice  in  their  government,  hoping, 
doubtless,  to  check  the  revolutionary  tactics  for  which 
the  leaders  were  noted.  He  applied  to  the  "Provi- 
sional Committee"  to  have  twenty-five  of  his  sup- 
porters admitted  to  the  board  of  directors,  and,  while 
his  demand  was  resented,  after  much  discussion  his 
representatives  were  duly  admitted.  The  Volunteers 
increased  in  numbers,  secured  arms  by  every  means 
possible,  and  it  is  estimated  that  about  one  hundred 
thousand  men  had  been  enrolled  by  July,  1914. 

The  outbreak  of  the  great  war  seemed  to  obscure 
all  other  issues,  and  the  interest  of  Parliament  and 
the  British  Empire  was  at  once  centered  upon  the 
duties  then  forced  upon  them.  The  Home  Rule  Bill 
passed  through  the  requisite  channels  and  duly  re- 
ceived the  Royal  assent,  but  it  was  not  to  come  into 
effect  before  six  months  after  the  end  of  the  war,  when 
an  Amending  Bill  regarding  Ulster's  future  should 
accompany  it.  The  Ulster  Volunteers,  no  longer 
thinking  of  Ulster  in  particular,  but  of  the  world  in 
general,  offered  their  service  to  the  Government, 
which  was  accepted,  and  they  were  sent  across  the 
sea  to  stem  the  tide  of  destruction  and  to  hold  the 
enemy  at  bay  until  England  should  be  in  a  position 


AND    A    WAY     OUT 107 

to  supplement  their  efforts.  There  is  no  greater  tes- 
timony to  the  courage  and  sacrifice  of  these  men  than 
that  borne  in  "The  Case  for  Ireland  Re-stated,"  page 
33,  by  one  who  never  had  any  sympathy  whatever 
with  the  Ulster  Volunteers.  After  quoting  Sir  Ed- 
ward Carson's  words  when  bidding  them  good-bye  on 
their  departure  for  service  abroad:  "Go  out  and  win 
glory  for  Ulster,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "that  is  just  what 
they  did  do,  for  no  country  ever  yielded  to  the 
supreme  sacrifice  a  braver  set  of  men  than  these  same 
Ulster  Volunteers  proved  themselves  to  be  in  the  great 
world  war." 

The  late  Mr.  John  Redmond  then  offered  the  serv- 
ice of  the  National  Volunteers,  to  be  used  in  defend- 
ing Ireland  from  a  foreign  attack,  but  not  to  be  used 
out  of  the  country.  This  offer  for  obvious  reasons 
was  not  accepted  by  the  Government.  It  must  be 
noted  that  the  offer  of  home  service  for  the  National 
Volunteers  and  Mr.  Redmond's  subsequent  activity 
in  recruiting  did  not  come,  until  he  had  secure  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Home  Rule  Bill  by  Parliament  and  the  ap- 
proval of  the  King.  Mr.  Redmond  felt,  and  urged  upon 
Parliament,  that,  if  Home  Rule  were  given  to  Ireland 
then,  all  Ireland  would  unite  and  show  their  loyalty 
and  appreciation  by  helping  the  Empire  to  the  utmost 
of  their  ability  in  the  war.  Although  Mr.  Redmond 
and  many  of  his  party  leaders  at  this  time  came  out 
boldly  for  voluntary  enlistment  of  Irishmen,  and 
stumped  the  country,  with  gratifying  results,  in  aid 
of  recruiting,  yet  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  National 


108 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

Volunteers  evinced  an  antagonistic  attitude,  with  a 
result  that  a  split  occurred,  and  part  held  to  the 
original  leaders  and  part  held  to  Mr.  Redmond. 
Those  who  followed  Mr.  Redmond's  leadership  be- 
came known  as  the  Irish  Volunteers,  who  in  later 
days  stood  firmly  by  the  government. 

The  "Sinn  Fein,"  meaning  ourselves  alone,  which 
was  a  Young  Ireland  Movement,  began  in  a  most  laud- 
able way  about  fourteen  years  ago,  and  soon  drew 
to  their  support  men  of  various  political  leanings  and 
of  many  forms  of  religious  belief.  They  succeeded 
because  in  the  early  days  they  laid  emphasis  on  Ire- 
land's possibilities  in  industry,  Ireland's  history, 
Ireland's  language  and  tradition ;  and  they  proclaimed 
that  it  was  possible  through  a  right  use  and  apprecia- 
tion of  all  that  Ireland  possessed  to  make  her  a  happy 
and  successful  nation.  This  platform  of  guiding 
principles  was  not  necessarily  new;  long  before  Irish- 
men with  prophetic  vision  had  seen  and  advocated  the 
possibilities  of  Ireland,  if  her  children  would  only 
make  the  most  of  them.  Dean  Swift's  effort  along 
this  line  met  with  little  encouragement,  but  the  ef- 
fort of  the  Gaelic  League  ond  other  societies  has 
succeeded  to  a  great  degree,  and  the  educational  work 
undertaken  by  them  has  already  had  most  helpful 
results.  After  a  brief  time  the  Sinn  Fein  laid  less  em- 
phasis on  educational  work  and  more  emphasis  on 
political  affairs.  Fault  was  found  with  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  and  ridicule  was  aimed  at  those  Irish  rep- 
resentatives who  attended  its  sessions  and  accepted 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 109 

the  salary  given  for  such  attendance.  Suggestions 
were  made  that  Irish  Consuls  representing  Ireland 
should  be  sent  to  the  large  ports  of  the  world,  and 
that  Ireland  should  cut  herself  free  from  outside  in- 
terference and  make  her  own  way  in  the  world.  The 
Sinn  Fein  soon  had  a  newspaper  of  their  own,  in 
which  their  teachings  and  aspirations  were  set  forth, 
and  in  which  England  received  no  small  amount  of 
unfavorable  mention.  The  Sinn  Fein  started  a  bank, 
and  some  of  their  followers  were  elected  to  the  Cor- 
poration of  Dublin.  The  Sinn  Fein  became  more  and 
more  a  puzzle  to  all  the  political  parties  in  Ireland, 
receiving  only  scant  recognition  from  any  of  the  old 
established  parties;  and,  while  their  growth  was  slow 
but  sure,  little  attention  was  given  to  them  or  their 
methods  in  the  daily  newspapers  for  many  years. 

When  the  1912  Home  Rule  Bill  was  being  pushed 
through  Parliament,  the  Sinn  Fein  seemed  rather 
desirous  of  accepting  it  and  making  it  also  accept- 
able to  their  fellow  countrymen  in  the  North, 
but  their  plans  to  this  end  came  to  nothing.  When 
the  war  came,  however,  the  Sinn  Fein  got  a  larger  view 
of  what  they  should  have,  and  they  now  hoped  that 
through  the  war  they  would  come  mto  their  greatest 
desire,  the  completeseparation  of  Ireland  from  the 
Empire.  I^'rom  this  goal,  then  decreed,  thcY-liaig, 
not  sweryecL 

When  there  appeared  to  be  little  hope  of  their  at- 
taining this  goal  in  the  early  days  of  the  war,  the  Sinn 
Fein  became  distinctly  anti-British  and  pro-German, 


110  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

and  their  newspaper  was  consequently  suppressed. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Nationalist  party,  and  their 
newspaper,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  warmly  sup- 
ported the  cause  for  which  the  Allies  were  fighting. 
In  the  meantime  the  Sinn  Fein  had  taken  other  means 
of  getting  their  views  before  the  reading  public,  and 
continued  one  method  after  another  to  this  end  without 
any  great  interference  from  the  Government.  The 
Volunteers,  too,  who  had  held  by  the  party,  went 
about  the  streets  in  uniform  carrying  arms,  and  no 
one  interfered  with  them.  Then  came  the  arrest  of 
Sir  Roger  Casement,  who  had  been  intriguing  with 
Germany  for  the  invasion  of  Ireland;  the  sinking  of 
the  German  vessel  carrying  arms  for  the  National 
Volunteers;  and,  finally,  the  plan  for  open  rebellion 
in  Ireland,  which  began  on  the  Monday  in  Easter 
Week,  1916. 

The  details  of  the  1916  rebellion  are  well  known 
and  need  not  be  detailed  at  any  length  here.  Anyone 
unfamiliar  with  that  rising  should  read  Mr.  John  F. 
Boyle's  "The  Irish  Rebellion  of  1916,"  which  is  an 
able  presentation  of  the  whole  affair.  It  must  appear, 
however,  to  the  average  mind  that,  while  the  rebellion 
took  the  world  by  surprise,  the  persons  leading  the 
movement  never  took  any  great  pains  to  keep  their 
desires  to  themselves  and  that  they  had  worked  out 
the  plan  of  action  with  great  care  and  ability.  There 
was  some  hitch,  however,  in  the  date  set  for  the  upris- 
ing, for  while  Dublin  was  attacked  on  the  Monday  of 
that  famous  week,  other  parts  of  Ireland  were  not 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 111 

openly  captured  until  two  and  three  days  later.  Dublin 
suffered  greatly  from  the  uprising,  many  persons 
were  killed  and  many  were  disabled  for  life ;  some  of 
the  finest  buildings  were  burned  and  others  were  al- 
most razed  to  the  ground ;  the  loss  in  trade  and  money 
was  enormous ;  and  the  loss  of  the  friendship  and  sup- 
port of  those  in  the  British  Empire  and  elsewhere  for 
Ireland's  welfare  cannot  be  overestimated.  British 
soldiers  soon  took  charge  of  the  country,  and  in  de- 
feating the  revolutionists  received  every  support  from 
the  late  Mr.  Redmond's  Irish  Volunteers;  and  the 
Irish  Republic,  which  had  cast  its  flag  to  the  breeze  a 
few  days  before,  ceased  to  exist  except  in  the  thoughts 
of  its  adherents.  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
issued  by  the  leaders  of  the  movement  is  a  wonderful 
document,  but  unfortunately  it  links  the  support  given 
by  Irishmen  in  America  with  that  of  Sinn  Fein's  "gal- 
lant allies  in  Europe." 

Martial  law  was  proclaimed  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  rebellion.  This  gave  the  military  authorities  com- 
pete control  of  the  enforcement  of  law;  and  soon  the 
leaders  of  the  rebellion  were  arrested,  tried  and  pun- 
ished. The  stern  measures  used  by  the  military  in 
the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  were  not  approved 
by  the  Nationalist  Party,  one  of  whom  suggested  that 
there  should  be  no  more  trials  of  the  offenders  and 
that  martial  law  should  be  withdrawn.  The  feeling 
in  Ireland  became  very  intense,  and  Mr.  Asquith  an- 
nounced in  Parliament  that  he  would  go  to  Ireland 
to  try  to  work  out  some  plan  of  settlement  agreeable 


112 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

to  all  parties.  Mr.  Asquith  did  go  to  Ireland,  and 
after  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  havoc  wrought  by  the 
Rebellion  and  a  series  of  conferences  with  various 
leaders  in  the  chief  cities,  intimated  that  a  solution 
of  the  whole  matter  might  come  at  any  time.  The 
solution  of  the  question  of  damages  caused  by  the 
revolution,  the  only  solution  that  came  from  Mr. 
Asquith's  trip,  was  very  acceptable  to  all  concerned. 
It  did  unite  them  on  that  point.  Why  not?  The  British 
Government  paid  the  very  large  damage  bill,  which, 
for  damages,  was  based  upon  the  liabilities  to  which 
any  first  rate  insurance  company  would  have  been  re- 
sponsible had  its  insured  property  been  destroyed  by 
fire. 

Immediately  after  the  Rebellion  in  Ireland,  public 
opinion  in  the  British  Empire  and  elsewhere  seemed 
to  hold  the  Government  and  their  representatives  in 
Ireland  responsible  for  not  having  dealt  with  the  mat- 
ter before  its  results  were  felt,  and  as  a  result  of  much 
adverse  criticism  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  Lord  Wim- 
borne;  the  Chief  Secretary,  Mr.  Birrell,  and  the  Un- 
der Secretary,  Sir  Matthew  Nathan,  resigned.  At  the 
same  time  the  indignation  of  the  loyalists  against  the 
revolutionists  was  to  be  found  on  all  sides.  Consid- 
ering the  favorable  laws  that  had  been  passed  for 
Ireland  during  the  previous  fifty  years  and  the  grants 
of  money  that  had  been  made  to  her  for  one  purpose 
or  another,  the  great  bulk  of  British  people  felt  that 
the  uprising  in  Ireland  during  a  war  which  demanded 
everything  that  England  could  produce  was  the  basest 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  113 

kind  of  ingratitude  and  treachery,  and  many  who  had 
previously  favored  Ireland  now  turned  their  backs 
upon  her  and  refused  to  listen  to  her  claims.  Eng- 
lishmen pointed  out  that  the  Home  Rule  Bill  which 
they  had  supported,  instead  of  bringing  Ireland  heart 
and  soul  into  the  war,  had  actually  helped  to  put 
Ireland  in  arms  against  the  Empire;  and  that  the 
exempting  of  Ireland  from  conscription,  when  Eng- 
land was  forced  to  conscript  her  sons,  simply  gave 
Ireland  an  opportunity  to  harass  the  Empire  in  her 
most  trying  days.  Canada,  Australia,  New  Zealand 
and  South  Africa,  that  had  been  doing  so  much  for 
the  cause  for  which  the  Empire  fought,  received  the 
news  of  Ireland's  uprising  with  the  greatest  amaze- 
ment and  disapproval. 

A  great  number  of  the  people  in  Ireland  of  all 
classes  thoroughly  disapproved  of  the  rebellion,  many 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  clergy  condemned  it,  as  did 
nearly  all  the  other  clergy.  A  resolution  passed  by 
Nationalists  in  New  Ross  on  May  5th  is  worthy  of 
notice: 

"That  we,  the  New  Ross  Board  of  Guardians, 
hereby,  in  the  strongest  possible  manner,  condemn 
the  action  of  the  Sinn  Fein  organization  and  citizen 
army  in  their  outrageous,  disgraceful  and  black- 
guardly conduct  at  present  carried  on  by  them  in  the 
rioting  and  looting  in  Dublin  and  elsewhere;  and  we 
as  a  Nationalist  Board  entirely  dissociate  ourselves 
with  such  disgraceful  and  unworthy  scenes,  the  more 
so  at  a  time  when  our  Empire  and  our  Allies  are  in- 


114 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

volved  in  one  of  the  greatest  struggles  for  freedom 
the  world  has  ever  known:  and  we  regard  the  present 
conduct  as  an  insult  to  our  brave  and  gallant  Irish- 
men who  have  sealed  the  common  bond  between  Eng- 
land and  Ireland  by  shedding  their  blood  on  the 
battlefields  of  Flanders  and  other  scenes  of  action. 
That  we  pass  this  resolution  to  show  the  responsible 
parties  for  the  present  crisis  in  Ireland  are  of  the 
irresponsible  class  and  so  that  the  action  of  the  loyal 
subjects  cannot  be  misinterpreted  by  our  Empire  or 
our  Allies.  It  is  also  resolved  that  we  place  implicit 
faith  and  trust  in  our  able  leader,  Mr.  John  Redmond, 
and  his  party,  and  we  unreservedly  place  ourselves  in 
his  hands,  knowing  full  well  that  with  the  assistance 
of  the  Irish  Party  he  will  carefully  and  consistently 
watch  over  the  interests  of  the  Irish  people  so  that  by 
reason  of  the  acts  of  these  worse  than  Hun  parties  the 
whole  Irish  race  will  not  be  disgraced  and  branded  as 
traitors.  That  copies  of  this  resolution  be  forwarded 
to  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  the  Chief  Secretary,  Mr.  Red- 
mond, and  all  the  Irish  leaders." 

The  late  Mr.  John  Redmond  was  terribly  morti- 
fied by  the  Rebellion,  which  he  described  as  a  "wicked 
move,"  and  "not  half  as  much  treason  to  the  cause  of 
the  Allies  as  treason  to  the  cause  of  Home  Rule,"  and, 
"So  far  as  Germany's  share  in  it  is  concerned,  it  is  a 
German  invasion  of  Ireland,  as  brutal,  as  selfish,  as 
cynical  as  Germany's  invasion  of  Belgium." 

The  news  of  the  Irish  Rebellion  was  quickly  flashed 
through  Germany  and  Austria,  where  it  was  pointed 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 115 

out  that  England  would  now  surely  lose  the  war  owing 
to  internal  strife  in  Ireland,  where  a  large  army  would 
be  required  to  keep  the  country  in  line.  It  was  also 
circulated  in  the  enemy  press  that  there  were  rebel- 
lions in  South  Africa  and  other  British  possessions, 
which  would  draw  British  attention  and  strength  from 
the  theatre  of  war  to  home  defence,  with  a  result  that 
they  must  come  into  victory  much  sooner  than  they 
had  expected.  The  Rebellion,  beyond  doubt,  gave 
the  enemy  a  basis  on  which  to  build  a  good  story  for 
home  consumption,  and  soon  the  people  were  being 
taught— and  many  of  them  believed  it,  too — that  the 
whole  of  Ireland  was  engaged  in  revolutionary  war, 
and  that  Irishmen  were  volunteering  for  service  un- 
der the  German  flag  against  the  Allies. 

The  enemy  press  omitted  to  state,  however,  that 
the  aid  promised  Ireland  by  Germany  had  not  ar- 
rived, and  that  the  cargo  of  arms  intended  for  the 
revolutionists  had  been  sent  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
by  the  British  navy. 

The  chief  arguments  for  and  against  Home  Rule, 
as  set  forth  by  the  chief  exponents  of  each  side,  are 
worthy  of  consideration  here.  In  the  "Case  of  Ire- 
land Re-stated,"  prepared  by  Mr.  E.  de  Valera  and 
the  Mansion  House  Conference  as  their  reasons  for 
opposing  conscription  in  Ireland  and  forwarded  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  April  18,  1918, 
we  have  all  the  arguments  that  have  been  used  in 
favor  of  Home  Rule.  After  referring  to  Ireland's 
part  in  the  American  War  of  Independence,  and  the 


116 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

passing  of  the  Conscription  Act  for  Ireland,  "in  the 
fourth  year  of  a  war  ostensibly  begun  for  the  de- 
fence of  small  nations,"  without  Ireland's  approval, 
they  assert  Ireland's  sovereignty  and  her  right  to  self- 
determination.  The  various  steps  in  Ireland's  history 
that  seem  pertinent  are  mentioned,  from  the  time 
Pope  Hadrian  IV.'s  Bull,  1155,  granted  Ireland  to 
Henry  II.  down  to  the  present;  and  it  is  pointed  out 
that  during  all  the  time  of  English  sway,  and  espe- 
cially since  the  Union,  that  Ireland  has  been  severely 
dealt  with,  and  that  the  8th  Article  of  the  Treaty,  as 
follows,  has  not  been  kept:  "All  laws  in  force  at 
the  time  of  the  Union  shall  remain  as  now  by  law 
established,  subject  only  to  such  alterations  and  regu- 
lations from  time  to  time  as  circumstances  may  ap- 
pear to  the  Parliament  of  the  United  Kingdom  to 
require."  It  is  stated  that  "the  Territorial  military 
system  created  in  1907  for  Great  Britain  was  not  set 
up  in  Ireland,"  and  that  various  naval  and  military 
acts  were  never  extended  to  Ireland;  that  the  privi- 
lege to  bear  arms  in  self-defence  has  been  refused; 
that  free  speech  has  been  hindered ;  and  that  Coercion 
Acts  have  embittered  the  people.  It  is  pointed  out 
how  emigration,  which  was  made  possible  in  many 
cases  through  grants  of  money  from  the  Government, 
has  reduced  the  population,  and  that  Ireland  has  been 
burdened  with  "increased  taxation,  stunted  indus- 
tries, swollen  emigration  and  callous  officialism" 
since  the  Union.  The  failure  of  the  Government  to 
carry  into  effect  the  recent  Home  Rule  Bill,  the  valor 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 117 

of  Irishmen  in  the  war,  and  the  failure  of  the  Irish 
Convention  receive  due  notice.  America's  entry  into 
the  war,  "because  her  rights  as  a  neutral,  in  respect 
to  ocean  navigation,  were  interfered  with,  and  only- 
then,"  is  referred  to;  and,  it  is  stated  that,  "What 
Ireland  is  to  give  a  free  Ireland  must  determine." 
Reference  is  made  to  the  oversight  of  the  British  navy 
along  the  Irish  coast,  to  prevent  aid  reaching  the 
enemy  from  this  source,  and  of  the  effort  of  the  man 
who  tried  to  land  from  a  German  submarine  on  the 
West  coast  on  April  12th  last.  The  committee  con- 
clude with  an  appeal  "not  to  be  condemned  for  a  de- 
termination, which  is  irrevocable  to  continue  stead- 
fastly in  the  course  mapped  out  for  her  (Ireland), 
no  matter  what  the  odds,  by  an  unexampled  unity  of 
National  judgment  and  National  right." 

The  Ulster  people,  led  by  Sir  Edward  Carson,  took 
cognizance  of  the  effort  of  the  Nationalists  to  excuse 
their  attitude  toward  conscription  before  "the  bar  of 
civilized,  and  especially  American,  opinion,"  and  at 
a  meeting  held  in  Belfast  on  August  1st,  1918,  issued 
an  important  rejoinder,  which  was  forwarded  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

The  reason  for  issuing  the  rejoinder  is  given  as 
"The  document  (of  the  Nationalists)  referred  to 
would  give  to  anyone  not  familiar  with  British  do- 
mestic affairs  the  impression  that  it  represents  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  Irishmen  .  .  .  This  is 
very  far  from  being  the  case."  The  minority  repre- 
sented by  the  signers,  comprising  from  one-fourth  to 


118 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

one-third  of  the  whole  of  Ireland,  have  maintained 
"that  the  same  obligations  should  in  all  respects  be 
borne  by  Ireland  as  by  Great  Britain;  and  it  has 
caused  them  as  Irishmen  a  keen  sense  of  shame  that 
their  country  has  not  submitted  to  this  equality  of 
sacrifice."  It  is  pointed  out  that  the  present  is  not 
a  time  for  discussing  the  faults  of  the  past,  whether 
well  or  ill  founded,  but  a  time  for  "whole-hearted 
co-operation  against  the  common  enemy."  It  is,  how- 
ever, noted  that  the  reference  made  by  the  National- 
ists to  the  part  played  by  Irishmen  in  the  American 
War  of  Independence  does  not  give  credit  to  Ulster, 
from  which  one-sixth  of  the  whole  Colonial  popula- 
tion before  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  gone 
as  emigrants.  Reference  is  made  to  Ulster's  indus- 
tries and  to  the  importance  of  a  continuance  of  the 
Union,  as  "under  no  other  system  of  government 
could  more  complete  liberty  be  enjoyed  by  the  Irish 
people;"  and  it  "regards  wholly  unwarranted  the 
theory  that  our  political  status  affords  any  sort  of 
parallel  to  that  of  the  'small  nations'  oppressed  by 
alien  rule,  and  for  whose  emancipation  the  Allied 
democracies  are  fighting  in  this  war."  It  is  further 
stated  that,  whereas  Engand  has  only  "one  member 
of  Parliament  for  every  75,000  of  population  and 
Scotland  one  for  every  65,000,  Ireland  has  one  for 
every  42,000  of  her  people."  Reference  is  made  to 
a  speech  made  by  the  late  Mr.  Redmond  in  Dublin  in 
1915,  in  which  he  praised  the  whole  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  Irish  people,  "who,"  said  he,  "own  the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 119 

soil,"  and  have  "absolute  freedom  in  local  govern- 
ment and  local  taxation  in  the  comitry.  Today  we 
have  the  widest  parliamentary  and  municipal  fran- 
chise: the  congested  districts  have  been  transformed." 
As  to  self-determination,  it  is  stated  that  it  was  the 
opposition  of  the  Nationalists  which  "prevented  the 
question  of  Irish  government  being  settled  in  accord- 
ance with  that  principle  in  1916.  The  British  Gov- 
ernment were  prepared  at  that  time  to  bring  the  Home 
Rule  Act  of  1914  into  immediate  operation,  if  the 
Nationalists  had  consented  to  exclude  from  its  scope 
the  distinctively  Protestant  population  of  the  North, 
who  desired  to  adhere  to  the  Union."  The  Nationalists 
wanted  "self-determination  for  themselves  combined 
with  coercive  domination  over  us."  Reference  is 
made  to  the  relationship  existing  between  some  of  the 
signers  of  the  Mansion  House  Document  and  Ger- 
many, and  to  the  support  given  by  the  clergy  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  to  the  anti-conscription  move- 
ment. The  document  is  brought  to  a  close  with  a 
statement  that  no  sacrifice  is  too  great  to  "make  the 
world  safe  for  democracy,"  and  "poignant  regret  that 
the  conduct  of  the  Nationalist  leaders  in  refusing  to 
lay  aside  matters  of  domestic  dispute,  in  order  to  put 
forth  the  whole  strength  of  the  country  against  Ger- 
many, should  have  cast  a  stain  on  the  good  name  of 
Ireland." 

Other  objections  to  Home  Rule  are  equally  impor- 
tant in  the  estimation  of  the  minority  in  Ireland. 
Their  objection  lest  their  religious  liberty  might  be 


120 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

interfered  with  is  practically  stated  in  the  following 
resolution  of  the  Presbyterians  in  1912:  "We  have 
no  desire  to  coerce  the  consciences  of  our  Roman 
Catholic  fellow-countrymen  or  to  deprive  them  of  any 
of  their  rights,  civil  or  ecclesiastical,  and  we  in  turn 
most  absolutely  refuse  to  have  our  civil  and  religious 
liberties  placed  under  their  control."  In  advocating 
this,  they  point  out  that  under  the  Local  Government 
Act  as  the  Councils  now  stand  little  representation 
is  given  to  the  minority,  and  that  under  a  larger  meas- 
ure of  Home  Rule  they  would  probably  fare  worse. 

Another  objection  has  to  do  with  the  possibility  of 
Ireland's  becoming  an  enemy  base,  in  case  of  Eng- 
land's entering  into  war  with  any  other  nation.  Ire- 
land's history  shows  that  in  former  days  France  and 
Spain  and  Germany  actually  attacked  British  power 
from  Ireland;  and  in  the  future  there  would  be  no 
way  of  guaranteeing  against  a  recurrence  of  those 
acts.  In  support  of  this  contention  the  loyalists  quote 
Admiral  Mahan,  who  said  some  years  ago:  "The  am- 
bition of  Irish  Separatists,  if  realized,  would  be  even 
more  threatening  to  the  national  life  of  Great  Britain 
than  the  secession  of  the  South  was  to  the  American 
Union.  It  would  be  deadlier  also  to  Imperial  aspira- 
tions; for  Ireland  by  geographical  position  lies  across 
and  controls  the  communications  of  Great  Britain  with 
all  the^outside  world,  save  only  that  considerable,  but 
far  from  preponderant,  portion  which  borders  the 
North  Sea  and  the  Baltic.  Independent  and  hostile, 
it  would  manacle  Great  Britain       .        .        .       The 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 121 

Irish   question,   therefore,   is   vitally   important   not 
only  to  Great  Britain,  but  also  to  the  Colonies." 

The  argument  is  advanced  against  Home  Rule  that 
capitalists  of  the  Unionist  Party  would  withdraw  their 
capital  from  Irish  industries  and  invest  it  elsewhere, 
where  stability  of  government  would  be  an  induce- 
ment; and,  also,  that  many  industries^  would  be  taken 
immediately  from  Ireland  to  England  and  Scotland. 
The  argument  that  Ireland  has  as  much  Home  Rule 
as  England,  Scotland  and  Wales  has  been  touched  on 
already.  There  are  other  arguments  advanced,  but 
these  are  of  minor  importance. 


122  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


CHAPTER  VII 
Attitude  in  the  War  and  the  Irish  Convention 

Army  unprepared. — The  Navy  and  Admiral  Sims. — Volun- 
teers.— Ireland's  first  aid  to  the  Kingdom. — Her  contribu- 
tion.— Reasons  for  later  aloofness. — Mr.  Bonar  Law's 
"Monroe  Doctrine" — Conscription,  and  England's  Labor 
Unions. — Anti-conscription  in  Ireland,  and  the  loyal  support 
of  many. — Cork  Red  Cross  work. — What  Americans  in  Ire- 
land did. — The  Irish  Convention's  task. — Personnel. — Failure 
to  agree. — Reports. — Sinn  Fein  and  the  General  Election. — 
Note  by  two  members  of  the  Irish  Convention. 

HE  great  war  found  a  large  portion  of 
the  world  almost  entirely  unprepared, 
although  seers,  soldiers  and  statesmen, 
here  and  there,  described  gathering 
clouds  on  the  political  horizon  that  portended  con- 
flict. To  the  appeal  of  Lord  Roberts  for  national  de- 
fence and  war  preparation  the  British  Empire  turned 
a  deaf  ear,  with  a  result  that  in  August,  1914,  Eng- 
land had  only  a  small  army  and  comparatively  speak- 
ing no  war  material.  Before  the  war,  Germany  kept  26 
soldiers  for  every  2,600  persons  of  her  inhabitants, 
while  the  British  Empire  kept  only  3  soldiers  for 
every  2,600  of  her  inhabitants.  The  fighting  force  of 
the  British  Army  in  August,  1914,  amounted  to 
250,000  Regulars,  200,000  Reservists,  and  250,000 
Territorials — or  Volunteers,  making  the  grand  total 
700,000  men  to  care  for  her  whole  territory  and  give 


BTT — S 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 123 

battle  to  any  enemy.  .  Of  course,  the  British  Navy 
have  counted  tremendously  at  all  times,  and  never 
more  so  than  in  the  memorable  days  of  August,  1914, 
when  they  bottled-up  the  German  Fleet  and  by  their 
quick  action  then,  and  constant  vigilance  afterward, 
aided,  in  due  time,  by  the  Allied  and  American  Navy, 
have  kept  the  sea  open  to  Allied,  but  practically 
closed  to  enemy,  use.  Just  think  of  it,  by  the  middle 
of  August  an  Expeditionary  Force  of  160,000  men 
had  been  landed  in  France  from  England ;  and,  of  the 
5,041,000  men  who  up  to  May,  1916,  had  enlisted 
voluntarily,  no  less  than  3,000,000  of  these  had  been 
taken  to  the  fighting  line  in  different  countries  before 
October,  1917.  Admiral  Sims,  of  the  American  Navy, 
did  not  overestimate  the  value  of  the  British  Navy 
when  he  stated,  at  a  luncheon  given  to  the  American 
press  representatives  visiting  Great  Britain,  "If  a 
catastrophe  should  happen  to  the  British  Grand  Fleet, 
there  is  no  power  on  earth  that  can  save  us,  for  then 
the  German  High  Seas  Fleet  can  come  out  and  sweep 
the  seas.  The  British  Grand  Fleet  is  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  cause  of  the  whole  of  the  Allies." 

The  war,  as  stated,  technically  found  the  world  un- 
prepared for  the  gigantic  struggle  through  which  it 
had  to  pass;  but  it  did  not  find  the  people  indifferent 
to  their  citizenship  or  callous  to  the  calls  for  aid  from 
their  brethren,  who  were  in  the  first  instance  forced 
to  feel  the  ravages  and  horrors  that  had  been  foisted 
on  them  under  the  name  "war."  The  volunteers, 
100,000  of  them,  who  responded  to  Lord  Kitchener's 


124 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

call  of  August  8th,  the  175,000  who  responded  a 
month  later,  and  the  2,000,000  who,  within  a  year, 
left  England's  shores  for  the  fighting  line,  prove  that 
the  spirit  was  there,  and  that  the  people  were  pre- 
pared for  any  sacrifice  asked  of  them.  A  like  spirit 
showed  itself  all  over  the  British  Empire,  as  men 
rushed  to  the  colors  to  do  their  best  for  the  land  of 
whose  traditions  they  had  always  felt  proud.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  expatiate  upon  the  loyalty  and 
prowess  shown  by  every  part  of  the  British  Empire  in 
the  trying  days  of  the  war,  but  it  is  proper  to  note  the 
unanimity  with  which  all  parts  of  the  Empire  em- 
braced the  opportunity  to  do  their  best  toward  a 
speedy  and  conclusive  victory.  When  the  war  broke 
out  many  Irishmen  responded  to  the  call  of  arms; 
several,  men  and  women  alike  undertook  different 
kinds  of  war-work  and  many  families  voluntarily 
adopted  ,the  system  of  war- rationing.  Under  the 
leadership  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Redmond,  who  had 
been  assured  that  Home  Rule  would  be  put  into  execu- 
tion by  the  government,  several  distinguished  persons 
held  meetings  throughout  Ireland  in  aid  of  volun- 
tary enlistment,  and  the  success  of  their  efforts  soon 
became  evident  on  all  sides.  Irishmen  did  respond: 
and  Irishmen  did  go  forth  to  war  with  the  zeal  and 
determination  for  which  they  have  ever  been  re- 
nowned, in  the  most  trying  days  of  the  year  1914 — 
and  the  following  year.  Why  not?  The  war  was 
theirs:  their  Parliamentary  representatives  had  so 
decreed:  their  relatives  in  other  lands  were  going 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 125 

forth  to  preserve  the  world,  and  why  should  not  they? 
It  was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  that  Ireland 
should  have  come  into  the  war  at  once;  and  what  she 
has  done  toward  winning  the  war  may  be  learned  to 
some  extent  from  the  following:  In  the  "Report  on 
Recruiting  in  Ireland,"  presented  to  Parliament  on 
January  14,  1916,  it  is  stated  that  before  the  war 
there  were  20,780  Irishmen  in  the  Army,  17,804  in 
the  Reserve,  and  12,462  in  the  Special  Reserve,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  51,046.  Between  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  and  the  ninth  of  October,  1915,  including  the  men 
in  the  tenth,  the  thirty-sixth  and  the  sixteenth  new 
divisions,  75,293  Irishmen  had  joined  the  colors, 
who,  with  the  51,046  enrolled  before  the  war,  brought 
the  total  of  Ireland's  fighting  strength  in  the  army  up 
to  126,339  men.  A  Department  Recruiting  Cam- 
paign was  then  organized  to  keep  Ireland's  now  fifty- 
two  battalions  up  to  war  strength,  which  resulted  in 
the  enrolment  of  an  average  of  1,063  men  every  week 
for  seven  weeks  previous  to  December  18,  1915.  It 
was  estimated  that,  about  this  time,  there  were 
416,409  unmarried  men  of  military  age  in  Ireland; 
and  that  252,000  of  these  were  engaged  in  connection 
with  agriculture,  which  was  counted  as  a  public  serv- 
ice. The  report  states  "That  the  percentage  of  men 
between  twenty  and  forty-five,  per  hundred  acres  of 
all  crops  in  England  and  Wales,  was  3.6,  Scotland  3.1, 
and  Ireland  6.8"  from  which  it  is  reasoned  that  "a 
considerable  number  might  be  deducted  without  re- 
ducing the  number  of  hands  below  the  figure  at  which 


126 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

it  is  found  suitable  to  engage  in  farming  in  Great 
Britain."  Between  October  10,  1915,  and  January 
8,  1916,  10,984  men  had  joined  the  colors,  bringing 
the  total  enlistments  in  Ireland,  from  August  2,  1914, 
to  January  8,  1916,  up  to  86,277.  The  pre-war  en- 
listments, 51,046,  added  to  this  number  give  a  total 
of  137,323  army  men.  Add  to  this  number  5,100 
serving  in  the  Navy  before  the  war,  and  3,446  who 
enlisted  during  the  war,  and  a  total  of  145,869  is 
obtained.  Between  January  8,  1916,  and  the  close  of 
the  war,  a  period  of  almost  three  years,  Ireland  fur- 
nished only  32,350  to  the  army  and  navy,  which 
brought  her  total  contribution  of  men,  including  the 
56,146  serving  in  pre-war  days,  up  to  178,219.  This 
number  represents  about  three  per  cent  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  population,  and  about  six  per  cent  of  the 
non-Roman  Catholic  population. 

From  these  figures  it  is  evident  that  up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  1916  there  was  a  fair  response  to  the  re- 
cruiting appeal  in  Ireland;  and  that  from  that  time 
to  the  end  of  the  war  the  response  was  by  every 
standard  pitiful  and  unworthy.  Let  us  note  a  few  of 
the  reasons  for  Ireland's  failure,  especially  in  the  last 
two  years  of  the  war,  to  put  forth  the  best  efforts  of  a 
united  nation  toward  overcoming  the  Empire's — and 
the  World's— foe. 

It  is  generally  understood  that  many  in  Ireland 
responded  to  the  call  to  arms  believing  that  the  Home 
Rule  Bill  would  be  put  into  operation  without  great 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 127 

delay,  and  this  would  have  become  operative,  if  the 
war  had  been  brought  to  a  close  earlier,  under  the 
law  already  noted;  but  when  1916  came,  and  with  it 
the  realization  of  the  impossibility  of  putting  Home 
Rule  into  immediate  effect  the  Irish  people  became 
more  impatient,  and  interest  in  recruiting  began  to 
wane.  The  Government  at  this  point  made  a  strong 
effort  to  have  the  Irish  people  agree  to  some  terms 
among  themselves,  so  that  the  strain  might  be  re- 
lieved; but  the  Home  Rule  which  would  have  suited 
the  majority  in  pre-war  days  was  not  now  sufficient — 
the  majority  declined  partition — and  the  Government 
felt  that  Ulster,  whose  interest  and  help  in  the  war  had 
not  flagged,  should  not  be  compelled  to  accept  an 
order  of  Government  which,  to  her  at  least,  was  thor- 
oughly distasteful.  The  Sinn  Fein  at  this  juncture  mus- 
tered their  forces,  and,  after  agreeing  with  Germany 
on  a  plan  of  action,  inaugurated  a  Rebellion  in  Ire- 
land. Many  who  heretofore  had  stood  aloof,  began 
now  to  look  upon  the  Sinn  Fein  with  favor,  and  event- 
ually decided  to  cast  their  lot  in  with  the  new  move- 
ment of  hate  against  England.  The  1916 Rebellion  was 
put  down ;  but  the  Sinn  Fein  have  grown  until  at  present 
they  have  over  seventy  members  elected  to  Parliament 
— who,  owing  to  a  condition  of  their  nomination  and 
election,  do  not  attend  at  Westminster,  however.  Nor 
is  that  all;  these  gentlemen  assembled  in  Dublin 
early  in  the  year  (1919)  and  proclaimed  that  an 
Irish  Republic  now  exists,  and  iiisavowed  all  allegiance 
to  the  British  Empire.    The  Government  allowed  the 


128 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

meeting  to  take  place,  which  was  rather  a  surprise  to 
those  present,  and  certain  persons  were  suggested  as 
delegates  to  the  Peace  Conference,  upon  which  their 
hopes  and  efforts  were  now  centered.  Efforts  have 
been  made  to  get  the  Irish  case  before  the  Peace  Con- 
ference, by  appeals  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States  and  to  the  people  of  America  generally,  but 
without  avail.  When  Mr.  Dillon  threatened  Parlia- 
ment with  this  move,  during  the  debate  on  Irish  Sepa- 
ration early  in  November,  1918,  Mr.  Bonar  Law  set 
forth  in  unmistakable  terms,  which  reminds  one  of 
the  "Monroe  Doctrine,"  the  British  point  of  view  on 
this  and  like  subjects.  "I  do  not  believe,"  he  said, 
"that  one  man  in  a  hundred  in  any  part  of  Great 
Britain  would  tolerate  the  idea  that  Irish  settlement  is 
to  be  dictated  to  us  by  anybody  outside  the  British  Em- 
pire." To  this  doctrine  the  British  Empire  is 
pledged,  and,  needless  to  state,  this  doctrine  is  being 
respected  everywhere. 

The  disturbance  and  agitation  caused  through  these 
matters  brought  the  old  party  difficulties  to  the  front 
again,  and  made  the  outlook  for  anything  like  gen- 
eral Home  Rule  for  Ireland  very  dubious. 

The  opposition  to  the  application  of  the  proposed 
conscription  law  to  Ireland  evoked  a  great  deal  of  dis- 
cussion both  abroad  and  at  home,  and  the  represen- 
tatives of  Irishmen  in  Parliament  succeeded  in  hav- 
ing Ireland  excluded  from  its  provisions.  Mr.  de 
Valera,  Mr.  Dillon,  and  the  Mansion  House  Con- 
ference in  their  appeal  to  President  Wilson  objected 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 129 

to  the  manner  in  which  Ireland  had  been  discrimi- 
nated against,  and  excluded  from  the  operation  of  cer- 
tain laws  passed  by  the  British  Parliament.  They 
stated,  "British  military  statecraft  has  hitherto  rigidly 
held  by  a  separate  tradition  for  Ireland" — the  charge 
is  noted  in  the  preceding  chapter — but  they  might 
have  added  also,  that,  Ireland  had  been  unfairly  ex- 
cluded from  the  law  which  conscripted  England  in 
1916o  There  is  no  question  that  a  large  number  of 
the  Irish  people  have  always  disapproved  of  the  "pre- 
ferred" treatm.ent  accorded  them  by  the  Government; 
and  never  was  that  disapproval  more  plainly  shown 
than  in  connection  with  the  non-application  of  war 
laws  and  rules,  operative  in  other  parts  of  the  British 
Empire,  to  Ireland. 

Why  w^as  Ireland  excluded  from  the  Conscription 
law  of  1916?  We  turn  to  the  early  days  of  the  war, 
and  note  that  even  then  a  strong  demand  was  made 
throughout  England  for  conscription  as  the  only  fair 
method  of  calling  up  the  country's  men  for  active 
service;  but  this  argument  was  answered  by  those  op- 
posed to  conscription,  who  pointed  to  the  numbers  of 
young  men  who  were  showing  their  loyalty  by  "join- 
ing up"  everywhere,  and  reminded  those  in  favor  of 
Conscription  that  old  England  was  a  free  country  as 
she  had  always  been.  We  are  not  considering  which 
method  was  best  then — everyone  knows  now,  nor  are 
we  mindful  of  the  Derby  Plan  and  its  success — all 
we  are  interested  in  now  is  to  what  extent  the  atti- 
tude of  England  toward  conscription  in  the  early 


130 THE    IRISH    TANGLE       

days  of  the  war  affected  the  attitude  of  Ireland 
toward  conscription  later.  Conscription  was  post- 
poned in  the  early  days  of  the  war  owing  to  the  oppo- 
sition that  was  shown  in  many  quarters ;  and  the  Labor 
Party,  above  all  others,  really  decided  the  question  for 
England  by  a  determined  opposition.  This  does 
not  suggest  any  question  as  to  the  loyalty  of 
those  men;  far  from  it,  for  all  the  English  Labor 
leaders  that  the  writer  has  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ing, both  in  America  and  in  England,  were  loyal  and 
true  to  the  Empire,  and  every  one  of  them  had  made 
great  sacrifices  toward  winning  the  war.  The  Labor 
policy,  however,  resented  the  very  thought  of  con- 
scription either  for  the  army  or  the  industries  con- 
nected with  the  war;  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Appleton,  Secre- 
tary, General  Federation  of  Trade  Unions,  in  two 
pamphlets,  one  entitled  "Labor  and  Compulsory 
Service,"  June,  1915,  and  the  other,  "War  and  Con- 
scription," showed  the  dangers  of  conscription,  as  he 
saw  it,  to  labor,  to  the  country  and  to  the  war.  In 
the  first  mentioned  pamphlet  he  stated,  "Has  anyone 
counted  the  cost  of  applying  compulsion  to  the  work- 
ing classes  of  Great  Britain?  .  .  .  Have  they  ever 
calculated  the  effect  compulsion  would  have  upon  the 
relationships  existing  between  people  and  Government 
and  between  people  and  the  crown;  .  .  .  Seven- 
eighths  of  our  immunity  from  the  troubles  which  be- 
set other  nations  is  due  to  the  fact  that  we  are  free." 
In  the  second  mentioned  pamphlet  he  stated,  "Pay 
the  army  properly,  provide  for  its  derelicts — this  is 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 131 

only  justice — but  let  the  people  of  this  country  remain 
free.  If  they  are  to  be  enslaved  it  matters  not  who  are 
their  masters,  or  under  what  flag  they  exist."  There 
is  no  sounder  Britisher  in  the  Empire  than  the  writer 
of  the  above,  nor  one,  I  venture  to  think,  who  is  in 
closer  touch  with  the  laboring  man  and  his  needs  and 
hopes,  yet  he  felt  that  he  was  leading  and  influencing 
labor  in  the  very  best  direction  when  he  wrote  the 
above.  Other  Labor  leaders  soimded  similar  warn- 
ings, and,  consequently,  conscription  was  not  put  into 
force  in  England  until  1916. 

When  the  1916  Conscription  Bill  was  before  Par- 
liament, the  Irish  Nationalist  representatives  opposed 
it  on  similar  grounds  to  those  which  had  succeeded  in 
England  early  in  the  war;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
English  objectors,  strange  to  say,  the  government 
listened  to  the  arguments,  that  Irishmen  should  not  be 
compelled,  and  that  the  voluntary  plan  had  not  failed. 
This  was  most  unfortunate  for  the  war,  and  also  for 
Ireland.  If  conscription  had  been  decreed  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  war,  for  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
notwithstanding  opposition,  it  may  be  that  the  war 
would  have  terminated  much  sooner  than  it  did,  and 
Ireland  in  all  probability  would  have  accepted  con- 
scription without  question  and  thus  might  have 
escaped  the  Rebellion  and  its  results.  Or,  if  Ireland 
had  been  included  in  the  1916  Conscription  order, 
it  is  very  likely  that  her  sons  would  have  responded 
to  the  call  to  service,  and  saved  the  country  from  the 
stigma  of  not  having  done  her  full  part  in  the  great 


132 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

war.  Ireland,  if  conscripted  in  1916,  would  have 
held  her  place  of  honor  among  the  nations  of  the 
world,  and  would  have  retained  the  support  and  good 
will  of  her  children  and  friends  in  every  quarter  of 
the  world. 

After  the  events  of  Easter  week,  1916,  the  support 
heretofore  given  to  recruiting  by  the  Nationalist 
leaders  was  virtually  withdrawn,  and  while  they  con- 
demned the  Sinn  Fein  for  the  turmoil  into  which  they 
had  plunged  the  country,  and,  consequently,  for  en- 
dangering Ireland's  chances  of  Home  Rule  from  any 
point  of  view,  they  did  little  or  nothing  to  allay  the 
unrest  and  restore  the  former  feeling  of  interest  and 
partial  co-operation  in  the  war.  Meanwhile,  the  Sinn 
Fein  became  more  aggressive;  and  after  the  failure  of 
the  Irish  Convention  to  agree  on  a  policy,  and  the  gov- 
ernment's decision  as  a  last  resort  to  apply  conscrip- 
tion to  Ireland  in  the  early  part  of  1918,  lawlessness 
again  broke  out  in  Ireland.  Many  of  the  bishops  and 
clergy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  now  entered 
into  the  movement  to  oppose  conscription,  and  the  Sinn 
Fein  for  the  first  time — as  they  had  been  rather  anti- 
clerical in  the  beginning — received  generally  speak- 
ing the  full  endorsement  of  that  church.  The  Mansion 
House  Conference,  in  which  were  representatives  of 
Labor  and  political  organizations,  decided  to  oppose 
conscription  on  the  eighteenth  of  April;  and  on  the 
same  day  at  Maynooth  College  the  Hierarchy  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  declared  the  conscription  law 
to  be,  "an  oppressive  and  inhuman  law,  which  the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 133 

Irish  people  have  a  right  to  resist  by  all  means  thaL 
are  consonant  with  the  law  of  God/'  Anti-conscrip- 
tion  pledges  were  issued  by  theclergy;  speeches 
against  conscription  were  made  in  almost  every  dis- 
trict; and  many  women  pledged  themselves  not  to 
take  the  places  of  those  who  might  be  forced  into 
service.  This  decided,  to  a  large  measure,  the  fate 
of  voluntary  recruiting;  and  it  helped  to  alienate  Ire- 
land's interest  in  the  war.  Who  after  these  pro- 
nouncements dare  speak  in  favor  of  conscription? 
Who  dare  encourage  voluntary  enlistment?  The 
largest  and  most  important  political  body,  and  the 
largest  church  in  Ireland,  had  authoritatively  and 
openly  disapproved  of  the  Government's  decision  to 
apply  a  law  to  Ireland  that  had  been  in  operation  for 
two  years  in  England;  and  while  these  bodies  did 
not  directly  oppose  voluntary  enlistment,  yet  a  great 
many  misunderstood  the  situation,  and  in  pledging 
against  conscription  felt  that  they  were  pledging 
against  voluntary  enlistment  also.  This  became  very 
clear  to  the  committee  that  later  tried  to  encourage 
voluntary  service. 

The  generally  unsettled  condition  of  Ireland  dur- 
ing the  last  two  years  greatly  helped  to  keep  Ireland 
detached  from  the  war.  Rioting,  destroying  prop- 
erty, mutilating  cattle,  burning  houses,  and  night 
raids  for  the  purpose  of  securing  firearms  from  those 
who  were  not  in  favor  of  the  majority  party,  were 
quite  common  and  kept  the  minds  of  all  in  a  state  of 
perturbation,    A  new  German  plot  was  also  reported 


134 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

to  have  been  discovered  in  Ireland,  and  many  politi- 
cal leaders  and  others  chiefly  connected  with  it  were 
arrested  quietly  and  removed  to  places  of  detention 
outside  the  country.  Ireland,  too,  it  should  be  re- 
membered, was  making  a  great  deal  of  money  owing 
to  the  war,  and  this  helped  to  divert  the  attention  of 
some  from  their  duty  to  the  country  to  their  own 
material  welfare.  Credit,  however,  is  due  to  many 
in  Ireland  for  the  noble  and  self-sacrificing  work  done 
by  them  in  aid  of  the  Allied  cause,  ever  since  the 
outbreak  of  hostilities.  Apart  from  the  willing 
service  rendered  by  many  men  and  women  at  various 
points  of  the  war  area,  the  willing  and  helpful  serv- 
ice of  men  and  women  at  home,  in  almost  every  dis- 
trict of  Ireland,  calls  for  the  highest  praise.  If  the 
majority  allowed  that  golden  opportunity  for  service 
to  pass  by  without  doing  great  things  for  their  fel- 
lows and  their  country,  the  minority,  on  the  other 
hand,  never  ceased  to  labor  for  the  relief  of  the  suf- 
fering and  the  steady  prosecution  of  the  task  to  which 
the  Empire  had  dedicated  herself.  The  loyal  women 
of  Ireland,  as  the  loyal  women  of  America,  were  to  be 
found  daily  in  their  Red  Cross  work-rooms,  in  the 
hospitals,  in  the  gardens,  running  automobiles  and 
doing  all  sorts  of  work  to  help  the  Allied  world  to- 
ward victory  and  peace. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  kind  of  work  done  by  those 
people,  the  following  extracts  from  the  1917  Report 
of  the  Cork  County  Branch  of  the  British  Red  Cross 
Society  will  prove  interesting.     This  report  is  a  fair 


AND    A    WAY     OUT 135 

sample  of  the  activities  carried  on  in  various  parts  of 
Ireland  under  the  same  auspices. 

"British  Red  Cross  Society 
{Cork  County  Branch.) 

President,  the  Countess  of  Bandon;  Vice-President, 
the  Lady  Barrymore;  County  Director,  Arthur  W. 
Winder,  LL.D.;  County  Treasurer,  Miss  A.  K.  Gub- 
bins;  County  Secretary,  Mrs.  Ada  M.  Winder;  Gen- 
eral Committee,  Mrs.  Sharman  Crawford,  Mrs.  Doran, 
Mrs.  Dowse,  Mrs.  Dring,  Mrs.  Emerson,  Mrs.  Hartopp 
Gubbins,  Miss  Maud  Gubbins,  Mrs.  James  Murphy, 
Mrs.  Starkie,  Miss  Voysey,  Mrs.  Leigh-White,  Lady 
Windle;  Comforts  Sub-Committee,  Mrs.  Hughes, 
Mrs.  Peacocke,  Mrs.  Winder.  Needlework  Depart- 
ment: This  department  was  first  opened  in  April, 
1915,  under  the  management  of  Mrs.  Hartopp  Gub- 
bins and  Miss  Maud  Gubbins.  The  year  1917  has 
seen  an  output  of  20,269  garments — including  work 
of  allied  branches.  Comforts  Department:  The 
Sub-Committee  of  the  'Comforts'  Fund  have  carried 
on  satisfactory  work  throughout  the  year.  They  have 
received  many  generous  contributions  of  eggs,  fruit, 
vegetables,  cakes,  sweets,  flowers,  books,  games,  and 
magazines,  which  they  have  distributed  amongst  the 
wounded  men  in  the  Civil  and  Military  hospitals. 
They  have  also  received  most  liberal  contributions  of 
money.  This  has  been  utilized  for  the  purpose  of 
purchasing    tobacco,    cigarettes,    pipes,    and    daily 


136 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

papers,  which  have  been  distributed  amongst  the  men, 
so  that  throughout  the  entire  year  each  wounded  man 
in  hospital  has  received  a  regular  weekly  supply  of 
'smokes,'  amounting  in  all  to  235,738  cigarettes  and 
486  pounds  of  tobacco.  A  large  number  of  the  pa- 
tients have  also  been  provided  with  pipes,  whilst 
every  ward  in  the  different  hospitals  has  received 
each  day  copies  of  the  Irish  and  English  papers,  and 
any  men  wishing  to  do  fancy  work  have  been  supplied 
with  materials  by  the  Misses  Chillingworth,  Mrs.  H. 
Longfield  or  Mrs.  Winder.  In  addition  to  this  the 
Christmas  dinners  of  the  men  in  the  different  hos- 
pitals were  largely  supplemented  with  such  luxuries 
as  turkeys,  hams,  mince  pies,  cakes  and  fruit.  The 
following  ladies  assist  the  Sub-Committee  in  visiting 
the  various  hospitals:  Mrs.  Austin,  Mrs.  Charles 
Beale,  Mrs.  Broadley,  Misses  Chillingworth,  Mrs 
Conron,  Mrs.  Dowse,  Miss  Goldie,  Miss  N.  Gregg 
Mrs.  Hartopp  Gubbins,  Miss  M.  Gubbins,  Mrs.  H 
Longfield,  Mrs.  Pike,  Miss  Scott.  National  Egg  Col 
lection  Department:  This  department,  which  is  un 
der  the  charge  of  Mrs.  James  Murphy,  assisted  by 
Mrs.  T.  A.  Howe  and  Mrs.  Fitz-James  Murphy,  was 
established  in  1915,  and  the  receiving  depot,  which 
is  situated  at  11  King  Street,  Cork,  is  open  on  Tues- 
day and  Saturday  mornings.  Supplies  of  eggs  for 
the  use  of  our  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  are  regu- 
larly received  in  this  depot,  and  are  carefully  packed 
and  despatched,  some  to  the  Cork  Military  Hospital, 
some  to  St.  Anne's  Convalescent  Home,  some  to  the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 137 

city  hospitals  (in  which  wounded  are  being  treated), 
and  the  remainder  to  the  Central  Depot,  London,  for 
distribution  among  the  base  hospitals  in  France.  Dur- 
ing the  year  1917  the  large  number  of  86,048  eggs 
was  received  and  despatched." 

The  treatment  accorded  to  the  American  Army  and 
Navy  men  stationed  in  Ireland  is  well  known.  In 
many  of  the  towns  visited  by  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Pringle, 
who  did  excellent  work  for  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  over 
there,  he  found  that  the  people  were  entertaining  the 
men  in  their  homes,  and  altogether  showing  a  decided 
interest  in  their  welfare.  In  Dublin,  several  Amer- 
ican ladies,  including  Mrs.  E.  C.  Adams,  the  wife  of 
the  American  Consul,  and  Miss  Sinclair  Egan  and 
Miss  Cecilia  Egan  of  Rathgar,  opened  a  club  room 
off  Grafton  Street,  where  tea  was  served  every  after- 
noon, and  newspapers,  magazines  and  writing  mate- 
rial were  provided  for  American  soldiers  and  sailors. 
Many  availed  themselves  of  this  boon,  and  in  the  fu- 
ture America  will  have  a  new  fount  in  which  to 
draw  for  accurate  information  regarding  Ireland  and 
her  people. 

On  the  16th  of  May,  1917,  the  Prime  Minister  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  the  late  Mr.  John  Redmond,  in- 
forming him  that  the  Government  were  anxious  to 
have  the  Irish  difficulties  adjusted  if  possible,  and 
suggesting  two  methods  of  achieving  that  end;  first, 
a  "Bill  for  the  immediate  application  of  the  Home 
Rule  Act  to  Ireland,  but  excluding  therefrom  the  six 
Counties  of  Northeast  Ulster;"  second,  a  Convention 


138  THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

of  Irishmen  "for  the  purpose  of  drafting  a  Constitu- 
tion for  their  country  .  .  .  which  should 
secure  a  just  balance  of  all  the  opposing  interests." 
Ulster  was  willing  to  accept  either  plan.  To  the  lat- 
ter suggestion  Mr.  Redmond  consented;  and  in  due 
time  a  most  representative  body,  known  as  the  Irish 
Convention,  were  organized,  and  charged  "to  submit 
to  the  British  Government  a  constitution  for  the  future 
government  of  Ireland  within  the  Empire." 

The  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Irish  Con- 
vention states:  "Invitations  were  sent  to  the  Chairmen 
of  the  thirty-three  County  Councils,  the  Lord  Mayors 
or  Mayors  of  six  County  Buroughs,  whilst  the  Chair- 
men of  the  Urban  Councils  throughout  Ireland  were 
requested  to  appoint  eight  representatives,  two  from 
each  Province.  The  Irish  Parliamentary  Party,  the 
Ulster  Parliamentary  Party  and  the  Irish  Unionist 
Alliance  were  each  invited  to  nominate  five  repre- 
sentatives. An  invitation  was  extended  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Hierarchy  to  appoint  four  representatives; 
the  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and  the  Archbishop  of 
Dublin  were  appointed  to  represent  the  Church  of 
Ireland;  and  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assembly 
to  represent  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland.  In- 
vitations were  also  extended  to  the  Chairmen  of  the 
Chambers  of  Commerce  of  Dublin,  Belfast  and 
Cork,  and  to  labor  organizations,  and  the  representa- 
tive peers  of  Ireland  were  invited  to  select  two  of 
their  number."  Of  these,  only  one  County  Council 
Chairman  declined  to  accept  the  invitation.    The  Sinn 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 139 

Fein  Party  declined,  as  did  the  All-for-Ireland  Party, 
and  the  Trades  Councils  of  Dublin  and  Cork. 

"Subsequently,  in  addition  to  one  member  selected 
to  represent  the  Trades  and  Labor  Council  of  Bel- 
fast, six  persons  were  appointed  to  represent  various 
labor  organizations,  and  fifteen  other  persons  were 
nominated  by  the  Government,  making  the  total  mem- 
bership of  the  Convention  ninety-five.  During  the 
course  of  its  proceedings  the  Convention  lost  three  of 
its  members  by  death  (Sir  Henry  Blake,  Mr.  Red- 
mond and  Sir  Alexander  McDowell),  and  two  by 
resignation  (Mr.  Lysaght  and  Mr.  Russell),  which 
reduced  the  number  to  ninety." 

In  calling  this  distinguished  group  together  to  work 
for  Ireland's  welfare,  and  not  for  party  aggrandize- 
ment, the  Prime  Minister,  or  his  advisers,  were  per- 
haps influenced  by  the  great  achievements  of  that 
other  body  of  distinguished  Irishmen,  already  men- 
tioned, known  as  the  Recess  Committee — who  laid 
a  broad  and  strong  foundation  for  Home  Rule  and 
Industrial  Development  in  Ireland.  Doubtless  those 
in  authority  believed  that  at  last  the  sure  and  safe 
way  toward  a  settlement  had  been  discovered  when 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  called  those  ninety  Irish  gentle- 
men together,  and  handed  over  the  baffling  Irish  prob- 
lem to  them  with  the  injunction,  "settle  it  among  your- 
selves." And  here  it  may  be  noted  that  although  the 
difficulty  was  not  quite  solved  by  the  Convention,  yet 
Mr.  Lloyd  George  deserves  credit  for  one  of  the  mas- 
ter strokes  of  his  career,  in  handing  the  whole  matter 


140 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

over  to  the  people  of  Ireland  themselves  for  solution. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Convention  took  place  on 
July  25th,  1917,  and  the  last  on  April  5th,  1918. 
During  the  time  they  were  in  session  the  Convention 
decided  not  to  give  any  information,  as  to  their  pro- 
ceedings or  the  results  attained  at  the  different  meet- 
ings to  the  public  through  the  press;  but  when  the 
findings  were  made  public  very  few  were  astonished, 
as  it  had  been  predicted  on  all  sides  that  no  agreement 
could  possibly  be  reached  on  the  essential  matters  of 
that  difficult  question. 

The  president  of  the  Convention,  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett,  in  the  "Letter  of  Transmission,"  states  that 
before  completing  the  task  assigned  to  them  "every 
possibility  of  agreement  had  been  explored;"  but 
when  it  appeared  that  agreement  could  not  be  reached, 
the  Majority  Report,  the  Ulster  Unionists'  Report, 
the  Nationalist  Minority  Report,  the  Note  of  the  Pro- 
vost of  Trinity  College  and  the  Primate  of  all  Ireland, 
the  Note  of  the  Majority  of  the  Labor  Rep- 
resentatives, the  Note  of  the  Earl  of  Dunraven  and 
the  Note  by  Southern  Unionists  were  duly  set  forth. 
The  Majority  Report  was  ordered  to  be  presented  to 
His  Majesty's  Government  by  a  majority  of  seven, 
42  voted  in  favor  and  35  voted  against;  while  the 
Majority  Report  itself  was  adopted  by  a  majority  of 
fifteen,  44  voted  in  favor  and  29  against.  It  was  of 
this  report  that  the  President  of  the  Convention 
stated,  "Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  with  which 
we  were  surrounded,  a  larger  measure  of  agreement 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 141 

has  been  reached  upon  the  principle  and  details  of 
Irish  self-government  than  has  ever  yet  been  at- 
tained." From  the  Minority  Reports  one  is  in- 
clined to  feel,  however,  that  the  prospects  of  a  satis- 
factory settlement  were  never  very  bright;  and  on 
the  two  questions  most  debated,  Ulster  and  Excise, 
there  never  was  any  decided  approach  to  settlement. 
The  Majority  Report  postponed  final  action  on  Cus- 
toms and  Excise;  and,  "at  the  same  time  each  party 
has  put  on  record,  in  separate  notes  subjoined  to  the 
Report,  its  claims  respecting  the  final  settlement  of 
the  question."  The  scheme  of  government  recom- 
mended provided  "a  Parliament  for  the  whole  of  Ire- 
land, with  an  Executive  responsible  to  it,"  and  control 
of  internal  affairs.  Customs  and  Excise  to  remain 
under  the  Imperial  Parliament  and  to  be  administered 
by  a  joint  Exchequer  Board,  for  the  present:  Parlia- 
ment to  consist  of  the  King,  an  Irish  Senate  of  64 
members  and  an  Irish  House  of  Commons  of  200. 
Representation  of  Ireland  in  the  Imperial  Parliament 
to  consist  of  42  members. 

The  Report  of  the  Ulster  Delegates  opens  by 
protesting  against  the  implication  in  the  Majority 
Report  "that  a  measure  of  agreement  regarding  Irish 
self-government  was  attained,  which  in  fact  was  not 
the  case,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  record  of  the  divi- 
sion. The  provisional  conclusions  on  minor  matters 
were  strictly  contingent  on  agreement  on 
the  vital  issues.  These  were  fundamental — and  upon 
them  no  agreement  was  at  any  time  visible."     The 


142  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Report  reviews  the  situation  in  Ireland  before  1914, 
and  mentions  that  Ulster,  through  the  Amending  Bill, 
was  to  be  excluded  from  the  Home  Rule  Act;  it  also 
notes  the  willingness  of  Ulster  Unionists  to  consider 
any  plan  making  for  the  welfare  of  the  people  and 
the  Imperial  Parliament,  and  due  mention  is  given 
to  the  part  taken  by  Ulster  Unionists  in  the  war. 
Then,  after  dealing  with  various  questions  on  which 
Ulstermen  could  not  agree  with  the  Nationalists,  the 
Report  states,  "We  regret  that  instead  of  proposals 
being  made  to  remove  our  objections,  the  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  Nationalists  in  the  Convention  strength- 
ened our  opinion  that  Home  Rule  would  intensify 
existing  divisions  in  Ireland  and  prove  a  constant 
menace  to  the  Empire.  Had  we  thought  that  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Convention  intended  to  demand,  not  the 
subordinate  powers  contained  in  the  previous  Home 
Rule  Bill,  but  what  is  tantamount  to  full  national  in- 
dependence, we  could  not  have  agreed  to  enter  the 
Convention."  The  Report  points  out  that  "a  most 
remarkable  situation  arose  in  the  Convention  when 
a  vote  was  taken  on  the  proposals  to  adjourn  the  pro- 
ceedings until  an  assurance  was  received  from  the 
Government  that  they  would  promptly  take  effective 
steps  to  restore  law  and  order  and  repress  outrage 
throughout  Ireland.  Fifty  Nationalist  members  voted 
against  that  proposal,  and  thirty-three  members,  in- 
cluding the  Ulster  Unionists,  voted  for  it." 

The  Report  of  the  Minority  Nationalists  states  that, 
"there  has  been  no  sure  means  of  knowing  how  far  it 


ANDAWAYOUT  143 

(the  Convention)  exhibited  the  mind  and  will  of  Ire- 
land at  the  present  time,  even  as  regards  the  parties 
officially  represented  in  it,  nor  any  guarantee  that  its 
decisions,  independently  of  suggestions  made  by  the 
Government,  would  take  effect  in  law.  The  Sinn  Fein 
organization  stood  altogether  aloof."  Reference  is 
made  to  the  efforts  of  the  Southern  Unionists  toward 
solving  the  problems;  and  to  their  determination  to 
hold  to  the  Imperial  control  of  Customs,  while  the 
Nationalists  as  tenaciously  held  the  opposite  view. 
A  "Dominion  Parliament"  is  here  advocated, 
although  provision  is  made  for  Irish  representatives 
in  the  British  Parliament,  and  that  foreign  relations 
and  imperial  matters  should  still  remain  with  the 
Imperial  Parliament,  The  Report  concludes  with  a 
plea  that  "Land  Purchase  should  be  completed  on 
terms  equitable  alike  to  landlord  and  tenant:  that  the 
administration  should  be  Irish,  and  that  the  full  cost 
of  Land  Purchase,  past  and  future,  should  be  borne 
by  the  Irish  Government,  on  the  understanding  that  it 
is  reckoned  as  part  of  Ireland's  contribution  to  Im- 
perial service.  Happily,  no  serious  difference  of 
opinion  has  arisen  in  the  Convention  on  the  proposals 
framed  by  the  able  Committee  which  dealt  with  Land 
Purchase."  It  may  be  interesting  to  state  here  what 
The  Spectator,  London,  of  November  9,  1918,  has  to 
say  on  the  Irish  Convention.  After  paying  attention 
to  the  Irish  Debate  in  Parliament  on  the  previous 
Tuesday,  during  which  certain  questions  that  had 
been  asked  by  Mr.  Samuel  two  years  before,  regard- 


144 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

ing  the   attitude   of  Irish  members  toward   Ulster, 
were    quoted,    it    proceeds,    "One    thing    that    can 
be  said  about  it  (the  Irish  Convention)  is  that  it  gave 
no  answers  to  these  questions,  or  to  any  other  of  the 
vital  points  connected  with  the  Irish  problem.    It  was 
vocal  on  superficial,  dumb  on  fundamental  points.    If 
we  remember  rightly,  it  was,  indeed,  unanimous  on 
only  one  specific  and     practical  point — a  suggestion 
for  increased  grants  to  Ireland  by  the  taxpayers  of 
England  and  Scotland."    It  is  worthy  of  note  here,  for 
it  exemplifies,  farther,  the  diverse  opinions  of  the 
people   regarding  what  they  want,  that,   as  T.   W 
RoUeston  states  in  his  recent  work,  "Ireland's  Van 
ishing  Opportunity,"  "only  thirty  per  cent  of  the  elec 
torate  actually  voted  for  Sinn  Fein"  at  the  recent  Gen 
eral  Election.  The  Irish  Convention  concluded  its  work 
and  the  President  presented  the  Majority  Report  to 
the  Prime  Minister  on  April  9,  1918.     This  was  a 
most  serious  time  for  the  Empire  and  her  Allies,  as 
Germany  was  putting  forward  a  stupendous  effort  to 
win  the  war,  and  was  driving  the  French  and  English 
back,  hoping  soon  to  have  Paris  and  the  Channel 
forts  well  under  control.     On  the  other  hand  Ameri- 
can soldiers  were  arriving  in  France  in  thousands,  and 
England  was  calling  up  her  citizens  of  almost  all  ages 
to  help  in  the  terrible  battle  that  was  being  fought. 
On  the  very  day  that  the  Irish  Convention  reported, 
the  Prime  Minister  announced  in  Parliament  that  con- 
scription would  be  applied  to  Ireland.    Then  a  new 
outcry  against  British  Rule  was  raised  in  Ireland; 


AND    A    WAY     OUT 145 

the  Sinn  Fein  soon  held  their  Convention  and  framed 
the  appeal  to  President  Wilson  already  mentioned:  the 
Roman  Catholic  Hierarchy  condemned  the  proposal 
of  applying  conscription  to  Ireland:  anti-conscription 
pledges  were  taken  by  those  who  expected  to  come 
within  the  law:  and  a  new  era  of  lawlessness  broke 
out  all  over  the  country.  The  Report  of  the  Majority 
of  the  Convention  now  ceased  to  have  interest  for  any 
section  of  the  Irish  people;  and  as  for  the  people  of 
the  Empire,  outside  of  Ireland,  Ireland's  claims  and 
riotings  during  those  terrible  days  of  the  war  evoked 
nothing  but  disapproval  and  contempt. 

The  Note  by  the  Provost  of  Trinity  College  and  the 
Primate  of  all  Ireland  given  here:  "We  have  not 
found  it  possible  to  vote  for  the  conclusion  reached 
by  the  majority  of  the  members  of  this  Convention. 
It  involves,  in  our  opinion,  either  of  two  alternatives: 
(1).  The  coercion  of  Ulster,  which  is  unthinkable. 
(2).  The  partition  of  Ireland,  which  would  be  dis- 
astrous. We  have  more  than  once  put  forward  a  Fed- 
eral Scheme  based  on  the  Swiss  or  Canadian  prece- 
dent, which  might  ensure  a  United  Ireland  with  pro- 
vincial autonomy  for  Ulster,  or  any  other  Province 
that  desired  it.  This  scheme  would  also  be  capable  of 
being  adapted  to  some  larger  scheme  of  Imperial 
Federation  for  the  whole  British  Empire. 

J.  P.  Mahaffy,  Provost  of  Trinity  College. 
John  B.  Armagh,  Primate." 


146 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

The  Convention  failed  in  their  efforts  to  "frame  a 
Constitution  for  Ireland  within  the  Empire"  accept- 
able even  to  the  members  themselves;  but  they  un- 
wittingly succeeded  in  developing  a  larger  and  more 
tolerant  insight  of  one  another's  views.  If  they  did 
not  achieve  that  unity  of  spirit  which  crowned  the 
labors  of  the  members  of  the  Recess  Committee,  it 
must  be  remembered  that  they  had  to  do  with  political 
matters  chiefly,  whereas  the  Recess  Committee  had  to 
do  with  economic  and  industrial  affairs. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  147 


CHAPTER  VIII 
The  Irish  Recruiting  Council 

Patriotic  effort  to  ward  off  conscription. — Arduous  work 
of  the  Council. — Newspaper  accounts  of  two  meetings  in  the 
Sligo  Area. — Reasons  for  the  failure  of  the  Council  to  attain 
their  goal. — Bishop  Dowse  on  Ireland's   Lost  Opportunity. 

HE  disbanding  of  the  Irish  Convention, 
the  determination  of  the  Government  to 
apply  conscription  to  Ireland,  and  the 
anti-conscription  movement,  together  with 
a  decided  unrest  among  the  people,  caused  many 
lovers  of  Ireland  the  gravest  anxiety  for  the  future  of 
the  country.  Many  plans  for  solving  the  new  diffi- 
culty were  suggested;  but  most  of  them  simply  advo- 
cated the  putting  into  operation  of  some  of  the  old 
schemes  of  Home  Rule,  which  already  had  been 
rejected  by  one  or  more  of  the  parties  interested,  and, 
so,  did  not  receive  the  approval  of  the  people  in^ 
authority.  While  preparatory  arrangements  were  f 
being  made  for  applying  the  Military  Service  Bill  to  » 
Ireland,  a  number  of  prominent  Nationalists  met  in 
Dublin  and  decided  to  make  an  effort  to  win  Ireland 
to  the  cause  of  the  war,  and  thus  to  ward  off  the  dis- 
grace of  conscription  and  to  give  the  people  generally 
their  old  status  in  the  estimation  of  the  world.  The 
plan  decided  upon  embraced  an  effort  by  Irishmen 


14^^ THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

themselves  to  secure  among  their  fellow-countrymen 
a  certain  number  of  men  through  voluntary  enlist- 
ment, which,  although  not  in  proportion  to  the  eligible 
manhood,  would  obviate  the  necessity  of  the  enforce- 
ment of  conscription.  These  gentlemen  brought  their 
plan  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  who  on  be- 
half of  the  Government  promised  to  keep  the  con- 
scription law  in  abeyance  until  October,  and  to  help 
the  committee  in  every  way  to  secure  the  quota  of 
50,000  volunteers  for  military  service.  Accordingly, 
offices  were  engaged  in  the  cities  and  larger  towns;  the 
whole  country  was  divided  into  several  recruiting 
areas;  and  military  officers  and  others  were  sent  from 
various  points  to  assist  the  civilian  committee.  An 
advertising  campaign  was  inaugurated;  and  a  strong 
plea  was  made  to  all  Irishmen  to  come  to  the  support 
of  the  movement.  Many  men  of  all  sections  of  the 
country  and  of  different  political  leanings  responded 
most  willingly,  and  soon  the  work  of  the  Irish  Recruit- 
ing Council  was  known  all  over  the  world.  It  was  a 
movement  full  of  opportunity  and  privilege,  and  one 
that  promised  in  its  inception  not  only  to  secure  the 
50,000  men  asked  for  by  Lord  French,  and  thus  to 
ward  off  conscription,  but  also  to  unite  the  country  in 
aid  of  the  Allied  cause,  and  to  give  the  people  of 
Ireland  what  they  otherwise  could  not  hope  to 
receive,  the  prospect  of  the  right  of  way  to  the  Peace 
Conference. 

Everyone  interested  in  Ireland's  welfare  must  feel 
grateful  to  the  Irish  Recruiting  Council  for  the  won- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 149 

derful  effort  they,  and  hundreds  of  others  who  co- 
operated with  them,  put  forth  in  those  trying  and  anx- 
ious days.  There  was  no  sacrifice  too  great  for  these, 
when  Ireland's  fair  name  and  the  future  of  the  world 
were  concerned.  They  traveled  all  over  the  country 
holding  meetings,  and  pleading  with  their  fellow- 
countrymen  to  come  forward  to  the  aid  of  the  Empire 
and  the  Allies:  they  besought  the  leaders  of  different 
parties  to  encourage  those  who  looked  to  them  for 
counsel  to  come  forward  as  volunteers;  and  they  con- 
sulted those  in  authority,  in  the  hope  of  securing  their 
sympathy  and  co-operation.  Statistics  will  never 
show  what  they  accomplished:  but  some  day  their 
work  will  be  appreciated  by  their  countrymen  and 
their  names  v/ill  stand  out  in  history  among  the 
greatest  patriots,  for  by  their  clear  vision  and  con- 
secrated service  they  have  added  lustre  to  the  record 
of  Ireland's  achievements. 

The  following  account  of  two  recruiting  meetings 
held  in  the  Sligo  Area  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Stephen  Gwynn,  M.P.,  President  of  the  Irish  Recruit- 
ing Council,  and  Major  J.  Murphy,  Chief  Recruiting 
Officer  for  that  district,  illustrates  the  kind  of  work  that 
was  carried  on  during  the  recruiting  campaign,  and 
the  interest  and  co-operation  of  the  people  themselves. 
It  is  from  the  Sligo  Independent,  of  Saturday,  Sept- 
ember 7,  1918: 

10 


150 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

"Striking  Appeals  by  American  Minister,  Na- 
tionalist M.P.,  Irish  Officers  and  Local  Patri- 
otic Citizens  at  Sligo. 

Within  the  past  few  weeks  the  Victoria  Hotel, 
Sligo,  has  been  transformed  into  headquarters  for  the 
area  comprising  these  three  counties.  A  large  staff 
of  officers  and  N.C.O.'s  are  daily  awaiting  recruits 
for  the  different  branches  of  the  Service — the  Army, 
the  Navy,  the  Air  Force,  and  even  Queen  Mary's 
Army  Auxiliary  Corps. 

Major  Murphy,  Boyle,  who  has  been  one  of  the 
most  successful  recruiting  officers  in  Ireland,  and 
Lieut.  Fagan  are  in  charge  of  recruiting  for  the  Army, 
while  the  Navy  is  well  represented  by  Petty  Officer 
Vernaw.  The  recording  official  is  Lieut.  Husband, 
and  Mr.  C.  C.  Dignan,  Sub-Sheriff  of  Roscommon,  is 
in  charge  of  propaganda.  Dr.  Jones  is  head  of  the 
Medical  Board.  Another  important  officer  is  Major 
Newton.  These  gentlemen  comprise  the  principal 
members  of  the  staff,  and  each  is  doing  his  part  to 
make  this  great  voluntary  effort  as  successful  as  it  is 
possible  for  organization  to  make  it.  Indeed,  it  is  an 
admirable  staff. 

The  entire  organization  is  under  the  control  of 
Major  Newton,  who  has  been  seriously  wounded  dur- 
ing the  war.  He  is  a  marvelous  organizer,  and  the 
right  man  for  Sligo,  because  he  is  possessed  of  the 
qualities  which  go  to  make  him  a  favorite  with  the 
people. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 151 

But  there  is  one  officer,  namely.  Major  Murphy, 
who  deserves  particular  mention.  Since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  he  has  thrown  his  heart  and 
soul  into  the  promotion  of  voluntary  recruiting,  and 
it  is  largely  through  his  popularity  that  Sligo  holds 
such  a  high  place  as  compared  with  other  centers 
for  the  large  percentage  of  men  which  it  has  sent  to 
the  colors.  Indeed,  Major  Murphy  has  been  inde- 
fatigable in  his  efforts  to  encourage  the  young  men 
to  do  their  duty  in  this  great  crisis.  He  feels  it  is  in 
the  best  interests  of  Ireland  that  the  young  men  should 
come  forward  voluntarily. 

On  Tuesday  a  great  voluntary  campaign  was  in- 
augurated so  far  as  this  area  is  concerned,  and  con- 
tinued throughout  the  week.  During  the  coming 
weeks  it  is  hoped  to  extend  the  campaign  to  every  dis- 
trict of  the  area,  and  it  is  hoped  Major  Murphy  will 
receive  the  co-operation  of  the  general  public  and  the 
speakers  freedom  of  speech. 

Meeting  on  the  Sligo  Fair  Green,  Impressive 
Speech  by  Mr.  J.  J.  Nelson,  J.F.  America's 
Opinion  on  Ireland. 

The  first  meeting  was  held  on  the  Sligo  Fair  Green 
after  12  o'clock  on  Tuesday,  and  considering  the  set- 
back which  recruiting  has  received  within  the  past 
twelve  months,  the  meeting  might  be  characterized  as 
a  very  successful  one.  A  brass  band  of  the  K.O.S.B., 
comprising  some  very  young  but   excellent   instru- 


152 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

mentalists,  having  arrived  the  previous  evening, 
paraded  the  principal  streets  of  the  town  prior  to  the 
meeting.  It  being  fair  day,  they  attracted  consider- 
able attention,  and  on  taking  up  a  position  in  the 
center  of  the  Fair  Green  they  were  surrounded  by 
quite  a  crowd.  After  a  short  time  Capt.  Gwynn,  M.P. 
for  Galway,  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  of  the  United  States, 
and  Mr.  Murphy,  L.G.  Inspector,  accompanied  by 
Major  Murphy  and  other  members  of  the  local  re- 
cruiting staff,  arrived  and  mounted  a  large  char-a- 
banc  in  waiting.  Amongst  the  crowd  a  small  group 
of  young  Sinn  Feiners  were  noticed.  However,  it  is 
only  fair  to  say  that  they  did  not  appear  to  be  alto« 
gether  hostile,  and  to  the  credit  of  the  Sinn  Feiners 
there  was  no  organized  opposition  to  any  of  the 
speakers. 

On  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Alex.  Lyons,  solicitor, 
seconded  by  Mr.  John  Keating,  the  chair  was  taken 
by  Mr.  J.  J.  Nelson,  J.P. 

How  Irishmen  Fought  in  the  Days  of  Napoleon 

The  Chairman  said  at  that  great  crisis  in  their  his- 
tory they  were  assembled  there  together  that  day  to 
hold  a  meeting  in  support  of  the  great  principles  of 
voluntary  effort  in  the  war.  Let  them  make  no  mis- 
take about  it.  That  meeting  was  not  a  conscription 
meeting.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  an  honest  effort  to 
avoid  the  bane  of  conscription,  and  it  depended  upon 
the  youth  of  the  country  at  the  present  time  whether 
they  availed  themselves  of  that  fair  and  reasonable 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 153 

effort  that  was  being  made  to  them  to  provide  the 
small  quota  of  50,000  men  from  the  millions  that 
inhabited  Ireland  today.  The  efforts  that  were  being 
made  on  behalf  of  voluntary  recruiting  were  for  Ire- 
land's honor.  He  (Mr.  Nelson)  had  been  asked  to 
preside  at  that  meeting  in  the  unavoidable  absence  of 
His  Majesty's  Lieutenant  of  the  county,  Major 
O'Hara.  Therefore,  he  did  not  wish  to  intrude  upon 
the  domain  of  the  speakers  who  would  follow  him. 
As  chairman  of  the  meeting  he  would  simply  an- 
nounce their  names,  but  he  would  suggest  to  them 
himself  that  up  to  the  present  Ireland  reaped  nothing 
but  advantages  from  the  war.  Everybody  that  had 
produce  to  sell  had  the  value  increased  three,  five  and 
sixfold,  and  associated  with  the  question  of  voluntary 
recruiting,  was  the  question  of  family  honor.  There 
were  many  men  present  long  past  middle  life  like 
himself — who,  in  their  early  years  read  the  fiction 
writings  of  Charles  Lever  and  John  Harrington,  which 
told  them  of  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury when  the  great  struggle  for  European  liberty 
was  being  made  against  the  tyranny  of  Napoleon, 
that  the  youth  of  Ireland  sacrificed  themselves  on 
the  fields  of  France  and  Flanders,  and  also  on  the 
Peninsula.  And  was  it  to  be  said  that  in  that  tremen- 
dous struggle  for  European  liberty  the  people  of  Ire- 
land refrained  from  sending  that  small  proportion  of 
their  manhood  until  they  were  taken  from  them?  He 
urged  every  man  present  to  take  it  home  to  himself 
that  day,  turn  it  over  in  his  own  mind,  and  ask  him- 


154 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

self  the  question — 'Is  not  the  honor  of  my  family  at 
stake;  or  is  it  not  my  duty  to  send  at  least  one  repre- 
sentative out  to  the  trenches?'  If  he  did  so  he  v^ould 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  his  duty  to  be  rep- 
resented in  that  great  struggle,  which  was  the  great- 
est the  world  had  ever  seen.  Concluding,  he  asked 
for  a  fair  hearing  for  the  other  speakers.   (Applause.) 


Why  America  Did  Not  Enter  the  War  Sooner 

Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn,  U.  S.  A.,  who 
met  with  a  cordial  reception,  at  the  outset  explained 
why  he  was  there.  He  had  not  been  sent  from  Amer- 
ica to  speak  to  theem;  but  the  Recruiting  Council, 
hearing  that  he  was  in  Ireland,  conscripted  him.  He 
was  born  and  bred  in  Ireland,  but  he  was  able  to  tell 
them  of  America's  part  in  the  war.  First  of  all  he 
wished  to  tell  them  the  reasons  why  America  did  not 
come  into  the  war  at  once.  Since  her  earliest  history 
America  had  the  watchword  (and  it  was  a  great  watch- 
word for  every  man  and  woman  as  well  as  a  nation), 
'Mind  your  own  business.'  America  thought  it  was 
none  of  her  business  to  get  herself  entangled  with 
the  business  of  Europe.  She  also  said  to  Europe, 
'Mind  your  own  business.'  America  wanted  to  be 
free,  and  she  remained  out  of  the  war  to  try  and  keep 
that  watchword  which  had  been  handed  down  to  her 
for  over  100  years.  There  was  another  reason  why 
America  did  not  enter  the  war  at  once.    That  was  in 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 155 

the  interest  of  the  business  of  the  country.  America 
wanted  to  produce  munitions  for  the  Allies,  and  also 
food,  in  addition  to  Red  Cross  supplies  and  workers. 
At  length  she  came  into  the  war  because  her  citizens 
had  been  assaulted  and  thousands  sent  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  They  all  remembered  the  people 
drowned  off  Cork  Harbor.  Some  people  told  him 
they  never  could  forget  the  sad  sights  they  witnessed 
in  West  Cork,  where  women  were  washed  ashore  with 
their  babes  clasped  in  their  arms.  Think  of  the  terr- 
ible Lusitania  disaster.  When  the  Irish  heart  was 
touched — and  they  couldn't  touch  the  Irish  heart  more 
than  by  the  brutal  murder  of  innocent  women  and 
children — no  sacrifice  was  too  great.  America  want- 
ed to  be  at  the  Peace  Conference,  so  that  she  would 
have  more  power  to  mediate  between  conflicting 
nations,  that  was  another  reason  why  she  kept  her  neu- 
trality so  long,  although  many  of  her  people  wanted 
to  be  in  the  war  from  the  very  beginning.  Men, 
women  and  children  stood  up  and  pledged  their  loy- 
alty to  the  cause  of  justice,  righteousness,  and  victory. 
(Applause.)  Men  were  eventually  asked  to  serve, 
and  a  procession  which  marched  down  that  great 
street.  Fifth  Avenue,  in  New  York,  comprised  men 
from  every  nation  under  heaven.  There  were  Ne- 
groes, Indians,  Jews  and  Germans. 

Crying  to  the  Irish 
Here,    Mr.    Andrew    Gaffney,    who    had    traveled 
many    lands,    shouted    out — 'And    Sligo    men,    too.' 
(Laughter.) 


156 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

The  speaker  (continuing)  said  that  was  right. 
There  were  Sligo  men,  too,  and  not  only  Sligo  men, 
but  also  men  from  every  corner  of  Ireland.  He  saw 
that  old  green  flag  with  its  golden  harp  floating  in 
the  breeze  on  behalf  of  the  Allied  cause.  (Ap- 
plause.) To-day  Irishmen  were  butted  in  the  United 
States  because  the  people  of  Ireland  were  not  sup- 
porting the  Allied  cause  to  the  full  extent.  They  were 
crying.  Tor  God's  sake,  tell  the  Irish  to  come  in  and 
prove  that  they  still  believe  in  righteousness,  justice, 
and  equity  for  all  men.'  (Applause.)  Referring  to 
the  gigantic  eff"orts  that  were  being  made  by  America 
in  the  matter  of  men  and  ships,  the  speaker  said 
they  could  count  the  former  by  the  million  and  the 
latter  by  hundreds.  He  didn't  care  whether  the  cen- 
sor heard  that  or  not.  They  were  going  to  keep  it  up 
until  the  Germans  cried  for  mercy.  (A  Voice — 'You 
have  done  it  already.')  (Applause.)  Proceeding, 
the  speaker  mentioned  the  old  69th  Regiment  in  New 
York,  remarking  that  the  sons  of  Ireland  were  in  it. 

Mr.  Andrew  Gafl'ney  interjected — 'There  is  a  son 
of  mine  in  that  army.' 

Never  Knew  Defeat 

The  history  of  that  regiment,  the  speaker  went  on, 
had  been  decked  with  glory  and  honor.  It  was 
formed  when  the  United  States  gathered  itself  to- 
gether, and  the  best  men  from  Ireland  fought  in  it 
and  won.     Irishmen  hever  knew  defeat.     There  was 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 157 

no  turning  back  with  the  Irish  when  they  set  their 
face  in  the  proper  direction. 

Continuing,  the  speaker  quoted  the  opinion  of 
Shackleton,  the  great  explorer,  regarding  the  splen- 
did qualities  of  the  Irishmen  during  his  expedition, 
and  referred  to  the  part  that  they  played  under  Wel- 
lington, who  also  had  the  Irish  spirit.  That  great 
general  drove  the  enemy  almost  into  the  sea  because 
he  had  an  Irish  regiment.  When  America  required 
the  Irish  they  rallied  to  the  colors.  A  Voice— 'And 
they  have  done  it  today.'  Irish  people  in  America 
were  very  anxious  that  the  people  at  home  should  sup- 
port them  generously.  A  Voice — 'It  is  only  fair.' 
They  wanted  the  Irish  people  to  come  into  the  war 
with  greater  determination  and  vim  than  they  had 
already  shown,  and  take  their  places  beside  their 
Allies  and  fight  for  the  independence  of  the 
world.  Irishmen  drove  the  Crown  Prince's  Army 
across  the  Ourcq  River,  and  they  were  not  sat- 
isfied but  followed  after  them.  Concluding,  the 
speaker  produced  a  small  flag  representing  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  of  America,  and  waving  the  emblem,  re- 
marked amid  applause,  'We  will  drive  the  Germans 
across  the  Rhine,  and  carry  this  flag  into  Berlin  and 
hoist  it  upon  the  highest  castle  there.' 

Straight  Talking  by  Capt.  Gwynn 

Captain   Gwynn,    M.P.    (Galway),    said    he    was 
there  that  day  to  speak,  not  as  a  member  of  Parlia- 


158 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

merit,  but  as  a  Connaught  Ranger.  He  was  also  there 
that  day  because  he  was  one  of  the  one  hundred  thou- 
sand Irishmen  who  had  volunteered  to  defend  the 
honor  of  Ireland.  If  it  had  not  been  for  that  one 
hundred  thousand  men  who  had  joined  up  they  would 
have  had  conscription  in  Ireland  years  ago.  What 
he  was  asking  for  was  that  men  should  come  as  vol- 
unteers and  stand  between  them  and  conscription, 
for  which  the  country  was  not  willing.  He  was  al- 
ways of  opinion  that  conscription  should  not  be  en- 
forced in  Ireland  except  by  a  Parliament  of  its  own. 
That  was  one  reason  why  he  was  always  against  con- 
scription. However,  he  could  tell  them  that  those 
who  advised  them  that  they  were  not  going  to  have 
conscription  if  the  voluntary  recruiting  scheme  failed 
were  giving  wrong  advice.  He  told  them  in  all  hon- 
esty of  conviction  that  unless  the  people  of  Sligo, 
Leitrim  and  Roscommon  contributed  their  1,600  men 
they  would  have  conscription,  and  then  there  would 
be  a  greater  number  of  men  taken  than  from  the  three 
counties.  Continuing,  the  speaker  said  let  him  tell 
them  what  day  that  was.  It  was  the  3d  of  September. 
It  might  not  mean  much  to  them.  But  it  meant  a 
great  deal  to  the  Irish  Division.  That  division  went 
out  in  December,  1915,  and  for  a  long  time  they  were 
engaged  in  trench  warfare  on  the  front  of  Loos.  Some 
fine  men  died  there.  He  had  seen  the  bravery  of 
Sligo  men  there,  and  better  men  he  never  asked  to 
see.  (Applause.)  On  the  3d  of  September,  1916, 
the   division   moved   into  the   trenches   in   front   of 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 159 

Guillemont,  which  had  been  unsuccessfully  attacked 
seven  times  by  other  regiments  and  other  divisions. 
On  that  occasion  the  Connaught  Rangers  were  in  front. 
It  was  there  one  of  the  Connaughts  gained  the  Vic- 
toria Cross.  The  next  week  the  whole  division  came 
in  and  covered  themselves  with  glory  again  in  the 
battle  of  Ginchy.  The  Irish  Division  had  won  the 
admiration  of  Englishmen  and  of  the  Germans.  Since 
then  their  ranks  had  been  depleted,  and  what  was 
true  of  Connaught  was  also  true  of  Ulster.  There- 
fore, he  appealed  to  them  as  an  Irish  soldier  to  come 
voluntarily  and  uphold  the  honor  of  their  Irish  regi- 
ments. Proceeding,  the  speaker  referred  to  American 
opinion  on  the  war,  and  quoted  the  remarks  of  Car- 
dinal Farley,  who  said:  'We  are  fighting  for  a  prin- 
ciple. We  want  justice  for  all  peoples.  We  are 
fighting  that  the  great  wrong  may  be  righted,  and  the 
world  made  safe  for  all  nations  and  for  democracy.' 
He  assumed  there  were  Sinn  Feiners  at  the  meeting. 
They  hoped  to  get  justice  at  the  Peace  Conference. 
What  did  justice  mean?  (A  Voice — 'An  Irish  Re- 
public.') Justice  meant  getting  something  they  de- 
served. What  did  the  Sinn  Feiners  deserve?  If 
they  had  fought  with  the  men  at  Guillemont  they  could 
go  to  the  Peace  Conference  with  a  clear  conscience 
and  a  light  heart.  But  at  the  Peace  Conference  they 
will  be  told,  'You  turned  your  backs  on  us.'  Now, 
who  was  going  to  be  the  greatest  power  at  that  Peace 
Conference?  (A  Voice — 'Germany.')  'Well,'  the 
speaker  replied,  'you  are  great  students  of  the  news- 


160 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

papers  down  here.  Any  man  who  thinks  that,  let  him 
read  the  papers  for  the  past  number  of  weeks,  and 
keep  an  eye  on  them  for  the  coming  few  w^eeks.' 
(Applause.)  Proceeding,  the  speaker  quoted  the 
number  of  American  troops  on  the  soil  of  France  and 
the  number  to  be  there  by  next  year;  that  was  how 
they  knew  victory  would  be  on  the  side  of  the  Allies. 
He  knew  more  about  Germany  than  those  present  at 
that  meeting,  and  he  did  not  want  to  see  her  destroyed, 
but  he  wanted  to  see  an  end  of  that  tyranny.  When 
they  came  to  the  Peace  Conference  America  would  be 
the  dominant  power,  because  she  had  the  most  men, 
the  most  ships,  and  the  most  money.  It  was  from 
her  Ireland  would  receive  the  most  friendship  if  they 
fully  shared  in  that  great  war.  Ireland  would 
only  get  from  that  Peace  Conference  what  she  de- 
served and  no  more.  It  was  a  business  proposition 
for  Ireland  to  stand  by  America.  They  could  only 
clear  themselves  by  contributing  the  men  which 
were  now  asked  for.  Before  conscription  came  he 
(Captain  Gwynn)  would  be  in  France.  He  purposed 
being  one  of  the  50,000  men  now  asked  for,  and  he 
appealed  to  every  Irishman  present  who  heard  from 
Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson  what  America  was  doing,  and 
from  him  as  an  Irish  Nationalist  and  an  Irish  soldier, 
to  volunteer  at  once  and  fight  for  the  cause  of  the 
Allies,  which  was  the  cause  of  humanity,  and,  above 
all,  for  the  cause  of  Ireland  herself.    (Applause.) 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 161 

Ireland's  Duty 

Mr.  H.  Murphy,  Galway,  in  the  course  of  an  ex- 
cellent speech,  said  he  had  been  on  the  recruiting 
platform  a  few  years  ago  when  Ireland  thought  it 
was  her  duty  to  answer  the  call.  Why  did  she  do  it 
then?  The  cause  was  the  same  today.  Their  sons 
and  brothers  in  the  trenches  were  calling  for  them, 
'Come,  Sligomen,  help  us.'  As  Irishmen  they  were 
bound  to  answer  the  call  and  fight  for  Ireland. 
(Applause.) 

Tribute  to  Sligo  by  Major  Murphy 

Major  Murphy  here  thanked  the  chairman  for 
his  kindness  in  coming  to  preside  at  the  meeting.  He 
appealed  to  the  young  men  of  Ireland,  and  particu- 
larly Sligo,  to  justify  their  position.  It  was  they 
who  were  responsible  for  running  that  voluntary  re- 
cruiting campaign,  and  everything  was  placed  upon 
their  shoulders.  It  was  their  duty  to  go  to  every  cor- 
ner of  that  area  and  proclaim  to  the  people  that  they 
wanted  the  young  men  of  military  age  to  come  vol- 
untarily and  save  the  terrible  stain  of  conscription. 
Having  discharged  their  duty  to  the  last  degree,  the 
blame  would  not  be  upon  them  as  organizers.  Per- 
haps at  the  present  time  the  blame  rested  with  them, 
they  may  not  have  done  their  duty  properly,  but  at 
the  finish  of  that  campaign  it  would  not  be  their  fault 
if  they  were  not  successful.  However,  he  appealed 
to  the  general  public  of  all  creeds  and  classes  to  co- 


162 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

operate  with  him  to  make  voluntary  recruiting  a  suc- 
cess in  Sligo,  Leitrim  and  Roscommon.  Owing  to 
the  splendid  manner  in  which  Sligo  men  had  already 
responded  to  the  call  they  were  only  asked  to  raise 
1,600  men  from  the  three  counties.  Please  God,  it 
would  grow  less  every  day.  If  the  young  men  did 
not  come  to  the  meetings  it  was  because  their  con- 
sciences were  pricking  them.  He  hated  conscription, 
and  he  had  always  spoken  of  Sligo  as  one  of  the  finest 
recruiting  areas  in  Ireland.  He  had  been  there  dur- 
ing the  past  four  years,  and  received  nothing  but 
kindness  from  the  Sligo  people.  However,  he  was 
only  doing  his  duty  to  Ireland  and  the  best  interests 
of  the  country  by  appealing  to  the  young  men  to  come 
and  fight  by  the  side  of  the  other  great  countries  of 
the  world  to  defeat  tyranny.  In  conclusion,  he 
heartily  thanked  the  speakers  and  the  people  who  had 
given  them  such  a  patient  hearing.  Any  young  man 
wishing  to  join  voluntarily  should  present  himself  at 
the  recruiting  headquarters,  Victoria  Hotel,  Sligo, 
where  he  would  receive  every  consideration  and 
courtesy. 

Miss  Morphy,  of  Greystones,  Dublin,  then  made 
an  impressive  appeal  to  the  women  present  for  volun- 
teers for  the  Queen  Mary's  Army  Auxiliary  Corps. 

A  hearty  vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  chair- 
man and  speakers  on  the  motion  of  Captain  Perceval, 
seconded  by  Mr.  Dignan. 

The  meeting  concluded  with  the  playing  of  the 
National  Anthem. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 163 

Visit  to  Ballymote  Fair.  Large  Crowd  Give 
Sympathetic  Hearing.  Captain  Perceval  and 
THE  Need  of  Irish  Regiments.  Touching  Speech 
BY  Mr.  Bowling. 

On  Wednesday  the  recruiting  party  visited  Bally- 
mote. It  was  first  arranged  to  hold  a  meeting  at  the 
Rosses  Point,  but  it  having  been  fair  day  in  the  town 
of  Ballymote,  it  was  decided  that  it  would  be  more 
advantageous  to  go  there.  The  anticipations  were 
fully  realized.  There  was  a  large  fair,  and  many 
young  farmers  were  present. 

The  band  and  staff  left  Sligo  in  a  fleet  of  motor 
cars,  and  on  arrival  at  Ballymote  the  band  paraded 
the  street  playing  martial  airs.  Subsequently  a  meet- 
ing was  held  opposite  the  Post  Office,  and  a  large 
crowd  congregated.  The  audience  were  most  sym- 
pathetic and  listened  to  the  different  speakers  with 
rapt  attention.  A  feature  of  the  proceedings  was  the 
selection  of  Mr.  Dowling,  Postmaster,  as  chairman  of 
the  meeting.  No  more  popular  gentleman  could  have 
been  found,  and  his  eloquent  impromptu  introduc- 
tions and  touching  appeal  were  greatly  admired. 

After  the  meeting  the  members  of  the  staff  inter- 
viewed probable  recruits  for  the  different  branches 
of  the  service. 

Admirable  arrangements  were  made  by  the  Bally- 
mote police  for  the  reception  of  the  band,  and  Dis- 
trict Inspector  Russell,  who  is  in  charge  of  the  Dis- 


164 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

trict,  was  indefatigable  in  seeing  after  the  welfare 
of  the  entire  party  during  the  visit. 

Mrs.  Dowling,  the  genial  wife  of  the  Postmaster, 
and  his  daughter  very  kindly  extended  hospitality  to 
Miss  Morphy,  the  only  lady  of  the  party,  who  was 
looking  for  volunteers  for  Queen  Mary's  Army  Aux- 
iliary Corps. 

Touching  Appeal  by  Mr.  Dowling 

Mr.  Dowling,  Postmaster,  on  taking  the  chair,  re- 
ceived a  warm  reception.  In  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks he  said  that  he  was  never  afraid  or  ashamed 
to  stand  up  and  advocate  voluntary  enlistment,  be- 
cause he  believed  in  his  heart  and  soul  that  it  was  the 
only  way  to  prevent  the  application  of  conscription 
to  Ireland.  Neither  those  present  nor  himself  wanted 
to  see  conscription  enforced,  for  he  believed  the  Gov- 
ernment didn't  want  to  enforce  it  until  they  had  given 
the  young  men  of  Ireland  every  opportunity  of  join- 
ing voluntarily.  He  did  not  belong  to  any  political 
organization,  but  he  was  a  true  Irishman.  He  loved 
his  country,  and  wished  to  see  it  prosperous,  and 
everybody  living  in  unity  with  one  another.  There- 
fore, he  believed  in  the  cause  of  the  Allies.  He  was 
sure  no  real  Irishman  wished  to  have  the  Hun  rule 
over  them.  God  forbid  that  the  Germans  should  ever 
have  the  control  of  Ireland.  The  only  way  to  prevent 
them  from  desecrating  their  altars  and  ravishing  their 
womanhood  and  murdering  their  innocent  children 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 165 

was  by  going  and  fighting.  He  had  two  sons  fighting 
with  the  colors,  and  Major  Murphy  could  tell  them 
that  he  himself  had  also  offered  his  services,  but  un- 
fortunately the  gray  hairs  were  too  numerous,  and 
they  wouldn't  accept  him.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 
If  the  Lord  called  upon  his  two  sons  to  make  the  su- 
preme sacrifice,  their  mother  and  he  would  be  con- 
soled by  the  fact  that  they  fought  and  died  on  behalf 
of  a  righteous  and  just  cause. 

'Whether  on  scaffolds  high, 
Or  in  the  battle's  van, 
The  noblest  place  for  man  to  die 
Is  where  he  dies  for  man.' 

(Loud  applause.) 

Mr.  Murphy,  who  was  the  first  speaker  intro- 
duced, made  an  eloquent  appeal  for  men,  and  his 
remarks  were  well  received. 

The  Test  of  Americas  Friendship 

Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  who  was  receieved  with  ap- 
plause, created  a  great  impression  by  the  forceful 
manner  in  which  he  told  of  the  great  part  America 
was  taking  in  the  war,  mentioning  the  fact  that  an 
officer  possessing  the  same  name  as  the  chairman  was 
the  first  to  cross  the  Ourcq  River  after  the  Germans 
with  the  69th  Fighting  Irish  Regiment  of  America. 
The  speaker  read  a  portion  of  an  eloquent  letter  from 
ex-President  Roosevelt,  whose  final  words  were — 
^The  test  of  our  friendship  for  any  nation  should  be 
that  nations  attitude  in  the  war.''  If  the  Irish  people 
11 


166 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

now  responded  they  would  wipe  out  the  disgrace 
which  was  pending  upon  the  page  of  Irish  history. 
(Applause.) 

The  chairman  here  mentioned  that  he  had  a  son 
in  the  69th  American  Regiment  referred  to  by 
Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  and  he  hoped  he  wasn't  far  away 
from  the  officer  named  Dowling  who  was  the  first  to 
cross  the  Ourcq  River.     (Hear;  hear.) 

Captain  Perceval,  Hazelwood,  who  had  a  hearty 
reception,  spoke  of  the  need  of  men  to  fill  the  de- 
pleted Irish  regiments,  and  made  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  men  of  Ballymote  to  do  their  duty,  and  save  the 
good  name  of  Ireland. 

Branches  of  the  Service  Explained 

Major  Newton,  of  the  local  recruiting  staff,  gave  a 
clear  explanation  of  the  different  branches  of  the 
service,  and  pointed  out  the  many  advantages  and 
attractions  they  held  out  to  the  young  manhood  of 
Ireland. 

Miss  Morphy  appealed  for  volunteers  for  Queen 
Mary's  Women's  Auxiliary  Corps,  which  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  releasing  the  men.  The  forma- 
tion of  the  Women's  Corps  was  a  tremendous  experi- 
ment— almost  a  revolution — because  the  Army  was 
the  most  traditional  of  all  other  callings.  However, 
the  experiment  had  been  fully  justified,  and  it  was  a 
great  privilege  for  women  to  help  the  men  who  had 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 167 

done  so  much  for  them.  Women  were  useful  as 
clerks,  and  for  general  domestic  work.  Their  life  was 
made  as  happy  as  possible,  and  the  pay  was  good. 
Any  girl  wishing  to  join  in  Ballymote  could  apply  to 
Mrs.  Perceval,  Templehouse,  who  had  kindly  offered 
her  assistance,  or  at  the  recruiting  headquarters  in 
Sligo. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  meeting  Major  Murphy 
returned  thanks  to  Mr.  Bowling  for  presiding." 

The  effort  of  the  Council  as  far  as  securing  the 
50,000  volunteers  between  June  and  October  was  not 
quite  successful,  as  only  about  11,000  men  had  re- 
sponded to  that  call  to  duty  at  the  expiration  of  the 
time  stipulated;  but,  in  another  sense,  it  was  success- 
ful, inasmuch  as  it  brought  together  in  a  common 
cause,  and  on  the  same  platform  frequently,  those  of 
different  political  affiliations  who  placed  their  coun- 
try's welfare  above  party  loyalty.  If  the  movement 
had  received  the  support  of  the  different  leaders  who 
preferred  to  stand  aloof,  it  might  have  gone  a  long 
way  toward  solving  the  question  that  nothing  else  had 
been  able  to  solve  heretofore. 

The  movement  failed  because  the  Nationalist  Mem- 
bers of  Parliament  and  other  leaders,  generally,  re- 
fused to  have  anything  to  do  with  it — they  were  luke- 
warm— and  neither  helped  nor  hindered.  If  these 
gentlemen  had  thrown  their  influence  that  way,  and 
had  personally  appealed  to  their  constituents,  the  re- 
sponse undoubtedly  would  have  been  very  great,  and 


168 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

the  general  approval  would  have  given  many  who 
really  wanted  to  serve  their  country  in  the  war — but 
were  afraid  to  come  out  boldly  lest  they  should  incur 
the  displeasure  of  their  representatives  and  of  their 
neighbors — an  opportunity  to  act  in  accordance  with 
their  desires.  Such  aid  would  have  been  far-reach- 
ing in  its  effects  at  home  and  abroad,  and  might  have 
been  a  great  influence  in  deciding  the  contests  in  the 
last  General  Election  and  a  telling  factor  in  favor  of 
those  Nationalists  who  then  were  displaced  in  Parlia- 
ment. It  was  another  golden  opportunity  that  the 
country  and  the  political  leaders  refused  to  accept; 
and  an  opportunity  which,  if  accepted,  would  have  re- 
sulted in  changing  the  attitude  of  the  people  toward 
one  another,  and  the  opinion  of  the  world  toward  the 
people  of  Ireland  generally. 

Another  influence  that  helped  to  defeat  the  end  the 
Irish  Recruiting  Council  had  in  view  was  the  attitude 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Clergy  and  the  Sinn  Fein. 

The  anti-conscription  pledge  already  mentioned 
kept  a  great  number  of  young  men  from  joining  the 
fighting  force  at  this  time,  as  they  believed  that  the 
pledge  they  had  taken  required  abstention  from  mili- 
tary service  under  any  circumstance.  If  the  Roman 
Catholic  Clergy  and  the  Sinn  Fein  had  given  a  little 
encouragement  to  those  men,  and  had  explained  to 
them  the  difl'erence  between  their  pledge  and  the 
appeal  made  to  them  by  Irishmen,  they  no  doubt 
would  have  joined  the  colors  in  large  numbers.  As  it 
was  they  remained  apparently  indifferent  to  the  out- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 169 

come  of  the  war,  and  to  the  calls  of  their  relatives 
and  friends  who  had  gone  out  to  the  front  from  coun- 
tries where  conscription  was  regarded  as  the  only  fair 
way  of  achieving  victory  in  the  shortest  time. 

Again,  another  force  that  militated  against  the  work 
of  the  Recruiting  Council  was  the  opinion  that  several 
people  held  and  expounded  regarding  the  conscrip- 
tion order.  A  large  number  of  people  scoffed  at  the 
idea  that  the  Government  would  surely  enforce  the 
Military  Service  Bill  in  Ireland,  if  the  required  num- 
ber had  not  been  enrolled  by  the  date  stated,  and  so 
decided  to  wait  and  see.  Why  this  idea  had  become 
so  strongly  rooted  in  their  minds  is  a  problem,  in  view 
of  Lord  French's  promise  that  the  order  would  cer- 
tainly be  put  into  operation  if  the  condition  agreed  to 
between  the  Irish  Recruiting  Council  and  himself 
failed  of  fulfilment;  but,  fortunately,  owing  to  Ger- 
many's reverse  about  this  time,  which  quickly  termi- 
nated in  utter  defeat,  the  reason  for  calling  up  Ire- 
land's men  ceased  to  exist,  and  Ireland  was  saved  the 
humiliation  of  enforced  service.  With  the  passing  of 
conscription  there  also  passed  Ireland's  greatest 
opportunity  to  do  honor  to  herself,  in  serving  volun- 
tarily with  the  Allied  armies  and  winning  with  them 
the  most  important  victory  of  all  time. 

The  disappointment  felt  by  many  in  Ireland  at  the 
failure  of  the  country  to  do  its  best  in  the  war  was 
solemnly  voiced  by  the  Right  Reverend  Charles  B. 
Dowse,  D.D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Cork,  Cloyne  and  Ross, 
in  his  address  to  the  Synod  at  their  annual  meeting 


170 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

held  on  October  23,  1918,  in  Cork.  After  men- 
tioning the  valuable  service  that  the  clergy  of  his 
diocese  had  given  to  the  country  during  the  war,  he 
said,  "We  are  thankful  for  the  timely  and  whole- 
hearted entrance  of  America  into  the  war,  and  for  the 
success  that  has  attended  the  united  efforts  of  the 
Allies  during  these  past  few  weeks,  giving  assurance 
of  complete  victory  if  only  we  endure  to  the  end.  Our 
hearts  are  thrilled  as  we  think  of  Palestine  delivered 
from  the  desolating  oppression  of  the  Turks,  and  the 
restoration  of  freedom  to  the  Holy  Land.  For  these 
things  we  may,  indeed,  be  thankful,  and  offer  sin- 
cerest  praise  to  Almighty  God  for  the  great  things  He 
has  done  by  means  of  our  heroic  sailors  and  soldiers. 
And  yet  for  us  Irishmen  there  is  one  dark  blot  on 
the  brightness  around  us.  We,  as  a  country,  are 
largely  standing  aloof.  The  very  greatness  of  the 
sacrifices  endured  by  the  Allies  serve  to  intensify  our 
shame.  No  doubt,  there  are  many  noble  exceptions, 
and  Irish  sailors  and  soldiers  have  played  a  part 
second  to  none  in  heroism  and  devoted  service  on  be- 
half of  freedom  and  righteousness.  But  the  fact 
that  Ireland  generally  has  refused  to  take  her  proper 
and  full  share  of  the  burden  must  ever  remain  the 
measure  of  her  degradation  and  disgrace.  What  an 
opportunity  was  given  to  the  Nationalists  of  Ireland. 
Had  they  heartily  and  loyally  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  Allies  and  sent  the  young  men  of  this  country  to 
bear  a  glorious  part  in  the  fighting  line  in  the  defeat 
of  oppression  and  tyranny,  and  the  establishment  of 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 171 

truth  and  right,  what  demand  could  England  have  re- 
fused had  they  taken  such  a  course  as  this?  The  re- 
alization of  all  their  desires  was  at  hand.  As  it  is,  it 
is  hard  to  see  how  England  can  give  fulfilment  to  the 
desires  of  a  people  who  refuse  her  help,  and  by  doing 
so  aid  and  encourage  her  enemies.  But,  however  Ire- 
land may  stand  in  lonely  selfishness,  thinking  only  of 
herself  and  her  own  petty  grievances,  in  the  midst  of 
world-wide  happenings  and  events  that  are  calling  for 
the  co-operation  of  all  the  people  of  the  earth,  victory, 
sure,  complete  and  far-reaching,  is  coming  to  the 
Allies." 


172  THE     IRISH    TANGLE 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  Solution 

Present  state:  Prosperous,  but  unsettled — Exports  and  Im- 
ports.— Bank  deposits. — Fishing  returns. — Changing  condi- 
tions.— Sergeant  Sullivan,  K.  C,  on  lawlessness,  and  his 
appeal  against  crime. — Settlement  desirable. — Unionists  and 
Partition. — The  Centre  Party. — Irish  Reconstruction  Associa- 
tion.— Summary, — Proposed  solution:  Improvement  of 
national  education. — No  religious  education  during  school 
hours. — Unity,  the  most  desirable  asset. — Railway  improve- 
ment.— Government  co-operation  to  be  given  generously. — 
A  Port  in  the  West. — A  Federal  Parliament,  for  England, 
Scotland,  Wales  and  Ireland,  with  suitable  safeguards  for 
the  Irish  Provinces,  the  best  plan  today. — General  Gough  on 
conciliation. — The  New   Bill. 

T  the  present  time  Ireland  is  one  of  the 
most  prosperous  lands  under  the  sun:  and 
her  prosperity,  which  has  grown  steadily 
for  the  last  hundred  years,  has  been 
greatly  accelerated  by  the  past  four  years  of  world 
war.  It  does  not  fall  within  the  province  of  this  work 
to  enter  exhaustively  into  the  various  departments  of 
economic  and  industrial  development  in  order  to  show 
what  advance  has  been  made  in  each.  Information 
of  this  kind  is  accessible  to  any  who  desire  to  study 
it  in  the  various  reports  of  the  Government,  and  of 
the  Societies  whose  home  is  at  Merion  Square  under 
the  guidance  of  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  although  a  few 
pointers  may  properly  be  noted  here. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 173 

It  has  been  stated  already  that,  the  population  of 
Ireland  in  1800,  the  time  of  the  Union,  amounted  to 
about  5,000,000,  and  that  forty-five  years  later  the 
population  had  increased  to  8,295,000.  The  pres- 
ent population  is  less  than  5,000,000. 

The  total  tonnage  entering  Irish  ports  before  the 
Union — taking  the  three  years  before — amounted  to 
112,333,  whereas  in  1845 — taking  the  three-year 
period — it  had  grown  to  631,981.  In  the  year  1910 
the  tonnage  entering  Dublin  and  Belfast,  omitting  the 
records  of  all  other  ports,  amounted  to  893,047.  The 
value  of  Exports  and  Imports  for  the  three  years  end- 
ing 1790  amounted  to  £7,660,971:  in  1826,  taking 
the  three-year  basis,  this  item  had  increased  to 
£15,946,808;  in  1836,  on  the  same  basis,  the  result 
was  £32,731,910;  and  in  1910,  one  year  only,  the 
Exports  and  Imports  amounted  to  £130,888,732.  In 
1913,  the  Exports  amounted  to  £73,877,389,  and  the 
Imports  amounted  to  £74,467,283,  a  total  of 
£148,344,672.  In  1916  the  Exports  amounted  to 
£107,171,017,  and  the  Imports  amounted  to 
£105,205,416,  making  a  total  of  £212,376,433. 

The  deposits  in  the  Joint  Stock  Banks  in  1851 
amounted  to  £8,263,000:  in  1890  the  amount  was 
£33,061,000,  and  in  1910  £52,505,000.  The 
amount  in  Post  Office  Savings  Banks  in  1870  was 
£583,165:  in  1888,  £3,128,000  and  in  1909, 
£11,187,000.  At  the  present  time  the  amount  of 
money  deposited  in  Banks  and  Post  Offices  in  Ireland 
amounts  to  about  £125,000,000.    Here  it  is  worthy  of 


174 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

note  that,  from  1845  to  1912  the  population  had  de- 
creased 3,500,000,  and  that  the  land  under  cultiva- 
tion had  decreased  by  1,500,000  acres. 

The  Railways  of  Ireland  are  another  indicator  of 
the  progress  of  the  country.  In  1842  the  receipts 
from  the  fourteen  miles  then  in  operation  amounted 
to  £57,000:  in  1890  the  receipts  from  2,643  miles 
amounted  to  £3,042,000:  in  1909  the  receipts  from 
3,391  miles,  amounted  to  £4,335,368:  and  in  1913 
the  receipts  from  3,410  miles  amounted  to  £4,659,- 
283.    Reports  of  the  war  period  are  not  accessible. 

The  fishermen  of  Ireland  during  the  year  1918 
realized  on  their  sales  of  fish  about  £1,000,000.  In 
Baltimore  it  was  not  unusual  for  the  local  bankers  to 
distribute  from  £4,500  to  £6,000  per  week  to  the 
fishermen  who  made  that  port  their  chief  market 
during  the  summer.  Much  of  this  money,  however, 
did  not  find  its  way  to  the  banks  or  general  circulation, 
but  was  hoarded  up  and  even  buried  for  safe  keeping. 
A  number  of  policemen  when  searching  Cape  Clear — 
where  many  fishermen  live — and  digging  up  freshly 
disturbed  earth  in  hope  of  finding  concealed  and 
forbidden  firearms,  discovered  hundreds  of  pounds 
in  gold  and  other  currency.  In  one  instance,  £600  in 
gold  were  brought  to  the  bank,  as  a  result  of  the  dili- 
gence of  the  police  in  digging  near  a  residence.  No 
wonder  that  Cape  Clear  is  now  known  as  "Treasure 
Island." 

As  the  prosperity  of  Ireland  commands  the  atten- 
tion of  all  interested  in  the  Irish  situation,  so  must 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  175 


the  present  state  of  the  country.  In  no  period,  per- 
haps, of  Ireland's  life  has  the  general  disaffection  of 
the  people  attained  such  proportions.  History  is 
quickly  made  sometimes;  but  hardly  ever  has  there 
been  so  much  pressed  into  so  short  a  time  as  in  the 
case  of  Ireland  during  the  first  eight  or  ten  weeks  of 
1919.  A  Sinn  Fein  Republic  has  introduced  itself 
to  the  world;  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  "German 
plot"  have  been  released  from  gaol;  efforts  to  get 
Ireland  before  the  Peace  Conference  have  been  many, 
far  off  and  near;  two  new  political  parties  have  come 
into  existence:  and  a  society  for  looking  after  Ire- 
land's welfare  everywhere,  including  Westminster, 
has  been  formed.  No  one  pretends  to  know  what  will 
happen  as  a  result  of  all  this. 

The  present  frame  of  mind  of  most  of  the  country 
and  the  recent  lawlessness,  and  murders  in  Tipperary, 
have  caused  one  of  the  most  respected  leaders  of  the 
Nationalist  Party — who,  by  the  way,  as  legal  adviser, 
defended  the  late  Sir  Robert  Casement,  and  also 
signed  the  anti-conscription  pledge — Sergeant  A.  M. 
Sullivan,  K.  C,  to  send  a  letter  to  the  Press  from 
which  the  following  extracts  are  taken: 

"The  condition  of  affairs  revealed  by  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  Tipperary  murders  shows 
that  the  advocates  of  Christianity  in  Ireland  have  very 
little  time  left  to  organize  for  their  own  preservation. 
The  episode  itself  was  the  natural  development  of  the 
brutalizing  and  pagan  creed  that,  for  the  past  three 
years,  has  been  proclaimed  as  'patriotism'  in  Ireland, 


176 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

while  those  who  should  have  refuted  it  have  sat  in  cow- 
ardly silence.  Base  and  degrading  as  this  crime  is,  it 
is  but  one  symptom  of  the  moral  disintegration  of  our 
nation.  The  orators  who  last  Sunday  praised  or 
'justified'  assassination  were  doing  no  more  perma- 
nent harm  to  our  country  than  the  preachers  of  the 
new  doctrines  of  politics  and  economics,  who  defy  all 
authority,  moral  or  legal,  and  teach  that,  the  triumph 
of  violence  is  liberty  and  that  anarchy  and  idleness 
are  the  guardians  of  prosperity. 

Ireland  is  in  the  grip  of  a  criminal  confederacy  of 
secret  societies.  Our  youth  are  being  taught  that 
every  breach  of  the  law  is  a  service  to  Ireland.  Acts 
that  are  condemned  by  every  Christian  Church  as 
murder  or  as  suicide  are  openly  glorified  and  held 
up  for  the  imitation  of  our  countrymen.  Men  are 
assured  that  by  the  destruction  of  employers  and  by 
the  confiscation  of  property  prosperity  will  be  secured 
for  a  republic  of  'workers'  who  need  not  work.  This 
propaganda  is  in  the  ears  and  before  the  eyes  of  our 
people  every  day.  What  attempt  is  made  to  answer 
it? 

The  ignorant  politicians  are  willing  to  profess  a 
belief  in  anything  that  will  make  them  'popular.' 
The  crying  need  of  the  hour  is  to  rescue  our  youth 
from  the  criminal  societies  by  organizing  the  Irish 
people  in  the  suppression  of  crime.  Every  moral  pre- 
ceptor should  summon  up  his  courage  to  instruct  his 
flock  in  their  duty  to  help  the  Administration  to  bring 
criminals    to   justice.      Those    who    have    witnessed 


AND    A    WAY    OUT   177 

should  come  forward  and  give  evidence  in  truth  and 
honesty.  Magistrates  and  jurors  should  be  taught  to 
respect  the  obligations  of  their  oaths.  It  is  the  cow- 
ardice of  our  people  with  regard  to  these  matters  that 
has  enabled  the  secret  societies  to  enslave  them.  Un- 
til the  community  has  the  courage  to  punish  crime 
it  must  remain  a  community  of  slaves. 

The  matter  cannot  end  there.  Every  educated 
man  knows  that  the  liberty  and  prosperity  of  the 
humble  people  depend  on  the  practical  application 
of  the  principles  of  Christianity  to  public  affairs.  It 
is  as  easy  to  teach  this  truth  to  our  countrymen  as  it 
is  for  foreigners  and  half-breeds  to  teach  them  pagan 
lies.  The  man  who  cannot  demonstrate  that  the  bur- 
dens of  crime  and  violence  ultimately  fall  upon  the 
shoulders  of  the  poor  is  not  fit  to  address  any  flock. 
The  man  who  does  not  himself  believe  in  the  Gospel  as 
the  charter  of  true  liberty  of  nations  as  of  men  is  not 
fit  to  be  a  clergyman.  There  is  no  time  to  be  lost. 
The  danger  must  be  met  and  faced  at  once.  Immu- 
nity from  spoliation  and  banishment  can  be  purchased 
by  silence  very  little  longer.  There  is  no  institution 
that  renders  more  valuable  political  service  in  the 
preservation  of  peace  and  order,  and  in  securing  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  State,  than  the  Church 
in  which  the  poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them. 
The  silent  pulpit  has  no  defense  against  the  pagan 
economist. 

I  do  not  seek  to  minimize  the  dangers  of  the  course 
I  advocate.    Secret  tyranny  has  been  permitted  to  be- 


178 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

come  so  strong  that  it  can  close  churches  and  starve 
priests.  It  can  murder  with  impunity  in  open  day- 
light, in  the  presence  of  witnesses.  This  thing  must 
be  ended.  'Better  we  all  were  in  our  graves  than 
live  in  slavery  to  slaves.'  " 

A  settlement  of  the  whole  Irish  question  was  never 
more  desirable,  from  every  point  of  view,  and  never 
have  the  Government  been  more  anxious  to  do  their 
part  toward  that  end  than  now.     What  the  Govern- 
ment did   in   1914,   in  placing  Home   Rule   in  the 
Statute  Book  has  never  been  undone,  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  this  Law  needs  only  another  Law  dealing  with 
Ulster's    future.       This    enforcement    Law    is    not 
within  sight,  in  fact  the  Prime  Minister  promised  the 
voters  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  before  the  last 
General  Election,  that  Ulster  should  not  be  coerced  if 
they  returned  him  to  power,  and  many  believe  that  the 
large  majority  he  and  his  people  received  in  Great 
Britain  was  due  in  no  small  measure  to  that  pledge. 
Ulster,  on  the  other  hand,  is  quite  willing  to  allow 
the  rest  of  Ireland  to  go  its  own  way,  so  long  as  Ulster 
is  allowed  to  remain  a  part  of  the  British  Empire ;  but 
the  rest  of  Ireland  is  not  agreeable  to  this  plan.    One 
of  the  new  organizations  recently  called  into  existence 
by  Lord  Midleton  is  opposed  to  this  platform  of 
Ulster;  and,  consequently,  there  are  now  two  Unionist 
Societies    in   Ireland — the   Irish    Unionist   Alliance, 
heretofore  the  united  Unionist  forces,  and  the  Unionist 
Anti-partition  League,  the  new  body.     This  Southern 
Unionist  Body  is  in  favor  of  the  Unionist  policy  gen- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 179 

erally;  but  it  is  opposed  to  that  part  which,  the  Ulster 
Unionists  have  declared  as  agreeable  to  themselves, 
the  partition  of  Ireland.  It  cannot  be  seen,  however, 
that  any  way  has  been  made  toward  uniting  the 
opinion  of  Ireland  by  this  society  within  a  society. 

The  platform  of  these  Unionists,  from  the  South 
chiefly,  is  nothing  more  than  the  platform  they  held 
during  the  sessions  of  the  Irish  Convention,  although 
it  places  on  record,  through  outward  organization,  its 
dissent  from  the  Ulster  Unionists'  willingness  to 
separate  from  the  rest  of  the  Unionists  of  Ireland. 

The  other  Party  recently  organized  under  the 
leadership  of  Captain  Stephen  Gwynn  brings  forward 
a  proposal  which  was  made  in  the  Irish  Convention 
by  the  Primate  and  the  Provost  of  Trinity  College, 
although  at  that  time  the  plan  received  little  encour- 
agement. In  another  Chapter  (VII)  the  document 
stating  the  general  outline  of  this  plan,  which  em- 
braced a  General  Parliament  for  home  affairs,  and  a 
Parliament  for  each  of  the  four  Provinces  for  man- 
agement of  its  own  affairs,  may  be  found.  How  far 
this  Irish  Center  Party  will  succeed  is  problematical, 
owing  to  the  great  importance  of  the  Sinn  Fein  and 
their  leaders,  the  divided  Unionists,  the  aloofness  of 
Ulster,  and  the  unsympathetic  Nationalists  and  their 
leaders.  If  the  plan  should  not  receive  support,  it  at 
least  will  have  the  honor  of  pointing  the  way  to  an- 
other and  larger  Federalization  noted  hereafter. 

The  other  society  recently  created.  The  Irish  Re- 
construction Association,  has  for  its  objects,  "to  safe- 


180  THE     IRISH    TANGLE     

guard  the  interests,  economic  and  social,  of  the  whole 
of  Ireland  during  the  period  of  Reconstruction,  and, 
incidentally,  to  oppose  partition,  on  the  ground  that  it 
will  be  found  to  be  quite  incompatible  with  any  sound 
scheme  of  Reconstruction."  This  society  will  ex- 
amine the  value  of  Governmental  proposals  for  Ire- 
land in  the  period  of  reconstruction:  suggest  to  the 
Government  methods  of  meeting  the  situation  as  de- 
veloped from  time  to  time,  and  advise  the  farmers 
and  others  regarding  the  industries  that  might  be  de- 
veloped here  and  there.  On  the  whole,  the  plan  seems 
quite  in  keeping  with  other  movements  now  well  estab- 
lished in  Ireland,  some  of  which  have  been  referred 
to  already,  except  that  it  takes  into  its  scope  a  politi- 
cal feature,  the  anti-partition  matter.  If  it  could  have 
avoided  this  feature,  it  certainly  would  have  received 
a  large  and  generous  support,  as  there  existed  a  need 
for  a  society  capable  of  doing  the  work  that  this  one 
has  planned. 

These  recent  developments  have  not  changed  the 
writer's  opinion  as  to  the  best  way  of  solving  the  dif- 
ficulties presented  in  the  Irish  situation,  and  he  now 
offers  it  for  what  it  is  worth.  In  the  previous  pages 
he  has  tried  to  give  an  account  of  Ireland  as  history 
has  been  written,  and  from  information  gathered  from 
Irishmen  of  all  walks  of  life,  in  order  that  the  reader 
may  form  his  own  conclusions.  In  what  follows  the 
writer  gives  the  methods  that  he  believes  would  bring 
the  best  results  in  Ireland  in  the  shortest  time. 

It  has  been  shown  that  it  would  hardly  be  com- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 181 

patible  with  the  interests  of  the  Empire  to  consent  to 
the  Sinn  Fein  program  for  a  complete  separation 
of  Ireland  from  the  rest  of  it;  the  chief  objections  be- 
ing, National  Safety,  Commercial  Relationship,  and 
Ulster  Opposition.  The  Partition  Plan  has  also 
proved  unworkable;  as  the  Nationalists  and  others 
have  declined  to  have  Ireland  separated,  nationally. 
Other  plans  for  solving  the  difficulty  and  bringing  the 
people  together  as  a  nation  have  failed  for  one  reason 
or  another,  and  need  not  be  recorded  here. 

The  educational  system  of  Ireland  everyone  allows 
is  in  need  of  vast  improvement.  At  present,  while  it 
is  the  best  so  far,  it  suits  no  one,  and  does  not  make 
for  a  united  and  patriotic  people.  To  begin  with,  the 
National  Schools,  or  Public  Schools,  are  too  often  old 
buildings  insufficiently  heated  in  winter,  with  uncom- 
fortable furniture  and  unsanitary  surroundings.  The 
text-books  are  not  the  very  best  to  be  had,  and  while 
the  teachers  are  generally  well-equipped  for  their 
work,  they  are  usually  underpaid.  These  matters 
should  be  attended  to  without  delay.  Irish  should  be 
taught  in  the  schools;  and  Irish  History,  Poetry  and 
Song  should  be  made  an  important  part  of  the  curricu- 
lum of  every  grade.  As  already  stated,  Irish  is  taught 
in  many  schools,  under  special  conditions:  but  it 
should  be  made  a  required  subject  in  all  National 
Schools  at  least. 

The  next  improvement  that  should  be  made  in  the 
National  Schools,  is  to  make  them  thoroughly 
National   in  every  sense.     The  object  of  National 

12 


182 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

Schools  should  be  to  educate  the  children  in  secondary 
education  and  to  foster  loyalty  to  the  Government 
under  which  they  live.  Patriotism  is  not  generally 
taught  in  the  National  Schools  in  Ireland,  with  a 
result  that  the  children  grow  up  without  that  love  of 
country  which  the  children  of  other  nations  have  in- 
stilled into  them  in  the  Public  Schools.  Let  patriotism 
be  taught,  with  due  reference  to  the  best  in  the  coun- 
try's achievements  at  all  times.  And,  in  order  to 
guarantee  unity  among  the  children  of  to-day — the 
men  and  women  of  to-morrow — let  sectarianism  be 
abolished  in  the  National  Schools.  Sectarianism 
militates  against  unity  and  nationalism,  and,  in  no 
country  under  heaven  does  it  operate  more  fully 
to  this  end  than  in  Ireland.  National  Schools 
should  not  be  centers  where  separation  is  propagated 
in  the  plastic  days  of  child-life.  Denominationalism 
should  be  cast  out  of  the  National  Schools  in  Ireland; 
and  cast  out  so  that  it  may  not  return  easily.  This 
does  not  mean  that  Ireland  has  an  over-abundance  of 
religion,  far  from  it,  or  that  the  children  should  be 
allowed  to  grow  without  careful  and  sound  religious 
training.  It  means  that  the  National  Schools  in  Ire- 
land, whatever  Public  Schools  elsewhere  may  be 
allowed  to  teach,  should  not  be  allowed  to  teach  any 
particular  kind  of  religion  during  school  hours,  and 
that  there  no  clergyman  should  instruct  any  of  the 
children  in  religious  matters  during  regular  school 
hours.  Let  the  churches  and  the  homes  be  the  places 
where  religious  instruction  shall  be  had,  and  care 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 183 

should  be  taken  to  provide  a  great  deal  of  such  in- 
struction for  the  children;  but  let  the  National  Schools 
be  centers  of  nationality  at  all  times.  Children 
would  then  grow  up,  as  they  do  elsewhere,  to  love 
their  country,  and  to  think  of  one  another  as  brothers 
and  sisters  in  that  great  family — the  Nation.  The 
writer  is  aware  of  the  recent  efforts  in  Ireland  to  re- 
form primary  education ;  and  that  there  remains  great 
scope  for  progress  in  advanced  and  technical  educa- 
tion also.  Everyone  in  Ireland  in  public  life  to-day 
states  most  emphatically,  that  the  most  insurmount- 
able barrier  to  unity  is  sectarian  bigotry.  This  ap- 
plies to  all  the  religious  bodies  in  Ireland,  and,  as  the 
greatest  impediment  in  the  way  of  unity,  the  diffi- 
culty should  be  overcome  as  soon  as  possible  by  all 
means. 

Another  way  toward  the  solution  of  the  Irish  Prob- 
lem, that  should  be  put  into  operation  speedily,  is  the 
development  of  the  resources  of  Ireland.  To  this 
end  railway  facilities  should  be  placed  within  the 
reach  of  the  producer,  by  the  extending  of  present 
systems,  or  the  building  of  new  ones,  and  the  reducing 
of  passenger  and  freight  rates.  If  the  railways, 
twenty-eight  of  them,  cannot,  from  a  financial  stand- 
point, undertake  this  step,  then  let  the  Government 
come  to  their  aid,  but  let  the  roads  be  built  quickly 
and  made  accessible  to  the  average  man.  The  writer 
is  not  competent  to  advise  Government  ownership  of 
public  utilities,  nor  will  his  observation  and  knowl- 
edge warrant  his  doing  so.    The  Irish  railway  situa- 


184 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

tion  has  received  a  great  deal  of  time  and  thought 
from  Mr.  William  Field,  M.R,  whose  writings  on 
the  matter  are  most  interesting;  and  also  by  "Vmd," 
the  author  of  "The  Road  to  Irish  Prosperity."  Any- 
one who  wishes  general  information  regarding  the 
Railways  in  Ireland,  will  be  repaid  by  studying  the 
writings  of  these  gentlemen.  Let  the  program  of  de- 
velopment mentioned  by  Lord  French,  when  he  visited 
Belfast  last  summer  (1918)  be  carried  out  forthwith. 
The  following  extract  from  one  of  his  speeches  is 
most  encouraging:  "Rural  Ireland  has  begun  to 
share  in  this  wonderful  prosperity.  She  has  supplied 
Great  Britain  during  the  last  year  with  nearly  one 
million  head  of  cattle.  The  value  of  food  and  drink 
stuffs  exported  from  Ireland  to  Great  Britain  has  in- 
creased in  the  last  four  years  from  thirty  millions  to 
fifty-nine  millions.  The  Government  of  Ireland  are 
doing  their  utmost  to  maintain  and  continue  this  pros- 
perous state  of  affairs.  They  hope  by  judicious  policy 
to  assist  further  in  the  development  of  agricultural 
production  and  the  industries  arising  therefrom. 
Your  great  shipbuilding  industries  turn  out  ships  for 
the  transport  of  the  produce  of  the  country,  and  it 
seems  to  us  that  in  this  respect  the  West  coast  of  Ire- 
land can  be  turned  to  tremendous  account.  Natural 
facilities  for  the  construction  and  improvement  of 
harbors  and  the  establishment  of  docks  exist  in 
abundance.  I  much  wish  the  Chief  Secretary  for 
Ireland  could  have  been  with  us  today  that  he  might 
have  told  you  something  of  the  great  ideas  he  is  con- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 185 

ceiving  as  to  the  possibilities  of  developing  the  min- 
eral wealth  of  Ireland.  He  has  already  personally 
visited  many  places  with  this  object  in  view,  and  1 
know  it  is  his  intention  to  devote  a  considerable  time 
this  autumn  to  the  same  great  object.  Here  is  peace, 
prosperity,  and  plenty  for  all  within  our  grasp  if  we 
will  only  cease  to  follow  will  o'  the  wisps  and  settle 
down  to  hard  and  earnest  endeavor.  (Applause.) 
Industrial  effort  and  agricultural  effort,  the  great  co- 
partners of  success  in  any  country,  will  then  grad- 
ually transform  this  country  into  the  Denmark  of 
the  United  Kingdom." 

Let  the  Government  proceed  further  and  put  the 
recommendations  made  by  the  Sub-Committee  of  the 
Transport  Committee,  advising  the  development  of 
inland  transport  by  canals,  the  development  of  har- 
bors, and  the  creating  of  a  port  for  accelerating  trans- 
port between  Europe  and  America,  into  operation. 
Let  the  "self-help"  movement  in  Ireland  continue, 
no  matter  under  what  name  it  shall  operate;  and  let 
Irishmen  take  some  of  the  £125,000,000  now  in 
banks  and  invest  it  in  home  industries,  development 
of  the  land,  mines,  harbors  and  roads.  No  matter  if 
some  feel,  regarding  home  effort  and  home  invest- 
ment, as  those  who  indulged  in  the  following:  "Sure," 
said  one,  "we  will  be  ruined  entirely,  if  we  have  to 
pay  for  things  ourselves  without  English  help."  To 
which  the  other  replied,  "Yes,  we  may  be  bankrupt, 
but  we'll  be  bankrupt  with  our  own  money,  don't  you 
see."     These  aids  are  important,  and  since  1832  at 


186 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

least  they  have  been  suggested  as  factors  that  would 
go  a  long  way  toward  solving  the  Irish  difficulty. 

To  meet  the  present  state  there  remains  only  one 
solution,  and  that  is  a  Federal  Government  for  the 
British  at  home,  which  would  be  a  great  relief  to  the 
Westminster  Parliament,  and  a  decided  gain  to  the 
Empire  as  a  whole.  This  would  require  a  Parlia- 
ment for  Ireland,  a  Parliament  for  England,  a  Parlia- 
ment for  Scotland  and  a  Parliament  for  Wales,  to 
look  after  domestic  affairs;  and  a  Parliament  at  West- 
minster of  representatives  from  each  of  the  above 
Parliaments,  in  proportion  to  the  people  represented. 
This  is  practically  the  system  of  Government  in 
America,  where  all  are  satisfied  with  it.  The  differ- 
ent States  have  independent  Governments  for  local 
affairs,  and  the  Congress  directs  the  affairs  of  the 
Nation  collectively.  Provision  should  be  made,  of 
course,  for  guaranteeing  the  religious  freedom  and 
political  existence  of  men  of  all  parties  under  this 
plan,  which  should  be  fair  to  all  parties  and  Prov- 
inces of  the  country.  What  Ireland  needs,  first, 
last  and  all  the  time,  is  Unity  among  the  Irish  them- 
selves; and  in  no  better  or  quicker  way  can  it  be  ob- 
tained than  by  the  adoption  of  this  proposed  solution. 

The  words  of  General  Sir  Hubert  P.  Gough,  in 
joining  the  Irish  Centre  Party,  are  of  great  value,  and 
may  well  be  applied  to  the  plan  just  outlined:  "The 
main  object,"  he  said,  "that  we  require  to  arrive  at 
among  Irishmen  and  in  Ireland  is  the  feeling  of 
brotherhood,  comradeship,  and  respect  for  one  an- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 187 

other,  as  from  this  springs  self-respect  of  all  indi- 
viduals and  a  proper  and  legitimate  national  pride. 
From  these  spring  again,  love  of  truth,  of  justice,  and 
of  liberty.  Many  of  us  Irishmen  have  learnt  what 
comradeship  can  exist  and  what  real  brotherhood 
means  in  this  war,  in  common  with  others  of  the 
British  race  from  all  over  the  world.  It  is  so  precious 
an  asset  that  it  is  unnecessary  to  enlarge  upon  it." 
And  again,  "there  is  every  possibility  that  Irishmen 
can  agree  if  the  question  is  approached  in  the  spirit 
that  befits  a  great  people — in  a  serious  and  temperate 
manner,  and  with  a  foundation  of  brotherhood  and 
conciliation  in  their  hearts." 


During  the  progress  of  this  work  through  the  printers' 
hands  a  new  scheme  for  the  government  of  Ireland  has 
been  proposed  in  the  British  Parliament. 

The  plan,  as  so  far  outlined,  is  to  establish  in  Ireland 
two  Legislatures  (retaining  representation  at  Westminster) 
with  a  third  body,  to  be  known  as  the  Council  of  Ireland, 
elected  by  the  other  two,  for  the  purpose  of  legislating  on 
matters  common  to  both  of  them,  and  further  designed, 
possibly,  to  fulfil  the  promoters'  hopes  of  an  ultimate  union 
of  the  two  Legislatures. 

This  is  a  well  meant  attempt  to  satisfy  Irish  aspirations 
and  promote  a  feeling  of  goodwill  in  Ireland  towards  the 
sister  Kingdom;  but  its  success  can  only,  at  present,  be 
conjectured.  Unfortunately,  the  most  likely  conjecture  is 
that  the  scheme  will  not  be  accepted  cheerfully  by  both 
sections  of  the  country,  if  by  either,  and,  however  bene- 
ficial it  may  honestly  be  in  intent,  it  may  yet  fail  of  its 
purpose  if  forced  unwillingly  upon  the  country. 


188  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 


APPENDIX 
War  Time  Addresses 

Addresses  by  the  author  and  distinguished  Irishmen,  on 
the  War  and  Ireland's  duty,  at  Schull. — The  Palace  Theatre, 
Cork. — Mallow. — TuUamore. — The  Mansion  House,  Dublin. 
— Ballymena. — Rathfriland. — Sligo  and  Ballymote.— -The 
Recruiting  Council's  acknowledgment. 

URING  the  writer's  stay  in  Ireland  he  had 
the  privilege  of  addressing  many  gather- 
ings of  people  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  on  the  war;  and  he  received  on  all 
occasions  the  sympathy  and  approval  of  his  auditors. 
Many  citizens  helped  in  organizing  meetings,  giving 
their  patronage,  and  contributing  vocal  and  instru- 
mental items  to  the  programs.  Extracts  from  the 
newspapers  regarding  some  of  these  meetings  are 
given  hereafter;  and  if  the  extract  of  the  report  of 
any  meeting  seems  meagre  here  it  is  owing  to  a  de- 
sire to  avoid  tautology,  as  the  subject  was  the  same 
everywhere.  The  few  places  and  addresses  to  which 
reference  is  now  made  are  among  the  most  important 
visited,  although  the  interest  evinced  in  all  the  meet- 
ings held  was  of  the  highest  order.  The  newspapers 
were  very  generous  in  reporting  the  various  addresses, 
and  in  almost  all  cases  gave  a  correct  account  of  the 
proceedings. 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 189 

In  Schull,  County  Cork,  where  the  first  lecture  was 
delivered,  the  reasons  why  America  had  not  entered 
the  war  in  the  beginning,  and  the  reasons  why  she 
eventually  had  entered,  were  stated,  as  well  as  the 
gigantic  efforts  that  were  then  being  put  forward  by 
the  whole  American  people  to  insure  victory.  Here, 
as  in  other  places,  a  collection  was  taken  for  Red 
Cross  work  or  some  object  connected  with  the  war. 
The  Skibbereen  Eagle,  among  other  things,  reported 
as  follows: 

''America  s  Part  in  the  War 

The  Rev.  Thos.  C.  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  who  has  just  arrived  in  Ireland,  delivered  a 
most  interesting  lecture  at  Schull,  on  Monday  night, 
on  the  part  which  the  United  States  of  America  have 
taken,  are  taking,  and  are  going  to  take  in  the  war. 
The  lecture  was  profusely  illustrated  by  magnificent 
lantern  slides,  and  the  Schoolroom  (No.  3)  in  which 
it  was  delivered,  was  thronged  by  a  fashionable  and 
most  appreciative  audience. 

The  Rev.  G,  B.  Fairbrother,  M.A.,  Rector,  pre- 
sided, and  in  introducing  the  lecturer,  said  he  wel- 
comed him  as  a  Corkman,  and  also  as  a  citizen  of 
their  great  Ally,  the  United  States  (applause).  He 
looked  forward  with  great  interest  to  what  he  would 
say  to  them  that  night.  For  three  years,  before 
America  entered  the  war,  their  Allies  on  the  Western 
front  withstood  all  the  shock  of  the  tremendous  fight. 


190 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

The  United  States  for  that  period  did  not  see  fit  to 
enter  into  the  war,  for  reasons  good  to  themselves. 
They  had  now,  however,  come  in  and  come  in  en- 
thusiastically— ^^with  all  their  ardor  and  all  their 
strength  and  all  their  hope  and  courage — and  they 
were  doing  a  great  deal,  and  their  troops  were  pour- 
ing by  hundreds  of  thousands  to  the  Western  front; 
and  with  the  aid  of  the  great  Republic  of  the  West, 
victory  would  be  achieved.  (Loud  applause.)  On 
the  part  of  the  audience  he  welcomed  Rev.  T.  C.  John- 
son that  night,  and  he  was  sure  they  would  all  go  away 
instructed  and  pleased  and  thankful.  (Renewed  ap- 
plause.) 

The  Lecture 

The  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  who  was  enthusiastically 
received,  thanked  the  audience  for  their  cordial  re- 
ception, and  said  he  was  greatly  touched  by  it,  and 
felt  more  and  more  at  home,  as  he  was  breathing  his 
native  air.  The  question  of  the  war  was  an  impor- 
tant one  of  course.  As  soon  as  America  entered  the 
war  conscription  was  ordered,  and  billions  of  dollars 
were  voted  for  war  purposes  in  America  and  in  the 
Allied  countries.  Not  one  man  dare,  in  the  streets  of 
New  York  today,  stand  up  and  say  that  America  had 
not  done  the  right  thing  in  entering  the  war.  It  was  a 
tremendous  thing  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  mil- 
lion people  to  be  heart  and  soul  for  justice,  and  that 
was  what  all  America  was  for  (applause).  The 
States  were  giving  men  and  money  to  help  the  Allies 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  191 

and  had  now  nearly  a  million  men  in  France  and  Eng- 
land (applause),  and  every  month  one-third  of  a  mil- 
lion recruits  were  being  called  up  for  training.  He 
himself  had  three  nephews  and  a  brother  serving  in 
the  British  Navy  and  Army.  They  could  never  after 
this  war  separate  the  French,  English,  and  American 
nations  (applause).  The  States  had  been  sending  men 
across  the  Atlantic  for  months  and  months  past,  and 
they  all  awaited  the  issue,  confident  that  it  would 
bring  victory  to  the  Allies,  smash  the  German  mili- 
tary machine,  and  secure  the  future  peace  of  the 
world.     (Loud  applause.) 

On  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  J,  Boardman,  M.A., 
seconded  by  Mr.  R.  Wolfe  (Provincial  Bank),  a  cor- 
dial vote  of  thanks  was  passed  to  the  Rev.  Lecturer, 
who  suitably  replied,  and  said  he  should  be  happy 
to  show  the  slides  anywhere  there  was  a  demand  for 
them.     ( Applause. ) " 

In  Cork  a  lecture  was  given  in  the  Palace  Theatre, 
which  had  been  kindly  given  for  the  purpose  by  Sir 
Alfred  Dobbin,  under  the  patronage  of  the  Lord 
Mayor  and  Lady  Mayoress,  General  and  Mrs.  Doran 
and  others,  in  aid  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the 
Cork  sailors  who  had  lost  their  lives  through  the  sink- 
ing of  their  ships  by  German  submarines.  The  lec- 
ture was  well  attended;  and  the  Band  of  the  3d  Lin- 
colnshire Regiment  contributed  several  items  during 
intervals.  The  following  account  appeared  in  the 
Cork  Constitution,  July  22d : 


1^ THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

"What  America  Is  Doing  in  the  War 
Lecture  at  the  Palace  Theatre 

At  the  Palace  Theatre  on  Saturday  afternoon  an 
interesting  lecture,  entitled  'What  America  Is  Doing 
in  the  Great  War,'  was  delivered  by  Rev.  T.  C.  John- 
son, Brooklyn,  New  York.  The  lecture  was  in  aid  of 
the  Cork  Sailors'  Widows  and  Orphans  Fund,  and 
the  house  was  fairly  well  filled.  The  lecture  was 
illustrated  by  films  and  slides,  and  the  band  of  the 
3d  Lincolnshire  Regiment  was  present  and  rendered 
some  very  pleasing  American  and  other  airs.  The 
Lord  Mayor  was  to  have  presided,  but  owing  to  an 
unavoidable  engagement  was  unable  to  attend. 

The  lecturer  said  he  was  very  happy  to  be  able  to 
assist  the  fund  got  up  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of 
the  Cork  sailors,  who  had  sacrificed  their  lives  in 
order  to  go  on  with  their  duty  and  their  work,  and  had 
risked  the  dangers  of  the  deep,  so  terrible  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  for  the  good  of  others.  He  had,  he  said, 
been  asked  many  times  during  the  past  few  weeks 
why  America  did  not  come  into  the  war  long  ago,  and 
he  wished  to  refer  to  that  point.  He  had  had  the  op- 
portunity of  talking  with  many  prominent  statesmen 
in  America,  and  had  gleaned  from  them  the  chief 
reasons  why  she  decided  to  stand  by  so  long.  First, 
she  wished  to  act  in  accordance  with  her  old  policy 
as  laid  down  by  the  Monroe  Doctrine — to  remain 
herself  free,  and  not  interfere  in  European  politics. 
Secondly,  America  did  not  come  in  quickly  because 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 193 

she  had  a  great  foreign  population,  and  had  at  least 
half  a  million  German  voters.  Thirdly,  America  was 
doing  a  great  deal  of  good  for  the  Allies  in  the  way 
of  sending  food  and  so  on.  Fourthly,  America  was 
not  ready — she  had  few  soldiers,  little  munitions,  and 
a  small  Navy.  Eventually,  America  had  to  come 
into  the  war.  They  had  read  with  horror  in  Amer- 
ica of  what  the  Germans  had  done  in  France  and 
Belgium  and  in  the  air  raids  on  England;  but  when 
these  things  were  brought  to  America's  door  the 
whole  of  the  States  rose  to  prosecute  that  righteous 
war.  Once  started,  America  made  mighty  strides  in 
placing  herself  on  a  war  footing.  The  lecturer  then 
went  on  to  describe  the  enthusiastic  war  scenes  in  the 
States  he  had  witnessed.  He  saw  the  first  recruits 
passing  tiirough  New  York,  and  they  were  an  inspir- 
ing sight,  including  as  they  did  people  of  all  nations, 
even  Africans,  Chinese  and  Japanese;  and  since  that 
time  America  had  sent  over  about  1,300,000  men — 
(applause)— and  they  were  simply  an  earnest  of 
what  America  was  going  to  do.  The  places  of  these 
men  when  they  moved  out  of  camp  were  taken  by 
others,  and  by  the  end  of  this  month  they  would  have 
in  Europe  close  on  two  million  men.  (Applause.) 
America  had  undertaken  the  task  of  building  ships 
as  well  as  furnishing  men  and  money.  During  the 
last  six  months  .  .  .  ships  were  built  in 
America,  and  that  was  the  beginning  of  things.  They 
would  build  a  bridge  of  ships  between  Europe  and 
America,  so  that  by  placing  them  end  to  end  they 


\ 

194 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

could  almost  walk  from  New  York  to  Cork — (ap- 
plause)— and  they  had,  he  added,  .  .  ». 
ships  at  the  present  time  in  these  waters.  In  the  town 
in  which  he  lived,  there  was  a  regiment  called  the 
'Irish  Sixty-ninth,'  a  regiment  which  had  won  fame 
in  the  American  Civil  War,  and  that  fine  fighting 
Irish  regiment  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  sent  over;  it 
had  been  decimated,  the  men  paying  the  price  with 
their  lives.  He  hoped  that  such  Irishmen  would  still 
be  found  to  render  good  service  to  their  country. 
Concluding,  he  encouraged  all  to  persevere  in  their 
work  until  victory  was  achieved.     (Applause.) 

A  number  of  films  and  slides  were  then  shown 
depicting  war  scenes  in  America,  the  Americans  in 
France,  and  the  work  of  the  American  Navy,  which 
the  audience  followed  with  interest,  and  applause 
greeted  the  reading  of  an  inspiring  letter  written  by 
ex-President  Roosevelt  to  the  lecturer.  At  the  con- 
clusion the  band  played  the  National  Anthems  of  the 
various  Allies." 

Two  lectures  were  given  in  Mallow  before  gather- 
ings that  taxed  the  capacity  of  the  hall;  and  a  goodly 
amount  was  realized  toward  aiding  the  Fund  for  the 
Relief  of  the  Cork  Widows  and  Orphans  and  also  the 
Red  Cross  work. 

The  success  of  these  meetings  was  chiefly  due  to 
the  labors  of  Mrs.  Richard  E.  Longfield,  who  had 
made  all  the  arrangements,  including  the  designing 
and  putting  out  of  very  attractive  advertising  posters. 
Mr.  Richard  E.  Longfield,  as  Chairman,  in  introduc- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  195 

ing  the  speaker  made  an  eloquent  and  persuasive 
plea  to  the  young  men  of  his  town  to  avail  themselves 
of  the  present  opportunity  to  help  their  coimtry  by 
joining  voluntarily  in  the  great  effort  to  secure  the 
peace  of  the  world;  and  he  spoke  in  flattering  terms 
of  the  part  America  was  taking  in  the  war.  Major 
Lewis  Longfield,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Longfield  above 
mentioned,  and  author  of  "The  Sacrament,"  who  was 
home  on  a  few  days'  leave  from  France,  sang  the 
Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,  "Mine  eyes  have  seen 
the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the  Lord,"  at  each  lecture, 
which  was  greatly  appreciated  by  all  present.  Major 
Longfield's  son,  a  Lieutenant  of  the  Royal  Irish  Horse 
Regiment,  and  Colonel  G.  Longfield,  a  brother  of  the 
Chairman,  were  present,  as  were  several  other  dis- 
tinguished persons  of  County  Cork. 

The  lecturer  spoke  of  America's  earnest  desire  to 
bring  the  war  to  a  close  long  before  it  became  evi- 
dent that  she  herself  would  have  to  take  any  active 
part  in  it,  and  of  the  diplomatic  notes  sent  by  the 
President  to  Germany  in  the  hope  of  restricting  the 
war  zone  and  the  unwarranted  submarine  warfare. 
He  stated  that  a  great  many  believed  that  Germany's 
chief  object  in  sending  her  submarines  to  Amer- 
ican ports,  while  she  was  ostensibly  at  peace  with 
America,  was  not  primarily  to  send  gold  and  securi- 
ties and  take  back  copper  and  rubber,  but  to  show 
America  in  this  object  lesson  what  she  could  do  if 
America  entered  the  war.  The  long  suffering  and 
forbearance  of  America  was  pointed  out,  for  she  did 


196 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

not  enter  the  war  until  thousands  of  her  citizens  had 
been  murdered  on  the  high  seas  and  several  of  her 
ships  had  been  sunk,  and  she,  as  a  nation,  had  been 
ordered  to  send  only  one  ship,  which  should  be 
painted  in  colors  and  stripes  to  suit  the  eyes  of  sub- 
marine captains,  each  week  to  the  port  of  Falmouth. 
One  ship,  in  the  same  kind  of  paint  and  stripes,  would 
be  allowed  to  sail  from  Falmouth  for  a  port  in 
America. 

The  President  and  people  of  America  refused 
to  submit  to  this  dictation,  and  remembering  their 
glorious  past  and  the  honorable  traditions  committed 
to  their  trust  by  their  forefathers,  who  had  pledged 
to  one  another  "their  lives,  liberty  and  sacred 
honor,"  sent  the  German  Ambassador  and  his  corps 
of  assistants  out  of  the  country  and  declared  that  a 
state  of  war  existed  between  Germany  and  the  United 
States.  The  loyalty  of  the  people  and  their  desire  to 
help  to  bring  the  offenders  to  a  right  state  knew  no 
bounds.  Money  was  voted  by  billions,  both  to  the 
Allied  Nations  and  America  for  war  purposes.  Citi- 
zens offered  their  services  for  all  kinds  of  work,  and 
Red  Cross  aid  became  a  fetish.  Conscription  was 
ordered  for  the  young  manhood,  and  a  law  was  passed 
restoring  to  citizenship  all  who  had  joined  Allied 
armies  during  the  years  of  America's  neutrality — as 
by  joining  to  fight  against  nations  with  whom  their 
country  was  legally  at  peace  they  had  forfeited 
their  American  citizenship.  America  was  sending 
her  men  to  France  by  thousands  weekly,  and  soon  two 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  197 

million  soldiers  and  sailors  would  be  representing 
America  in  the  great  war. 

An  appeal  was  made  to  the  men  of  Mallow  and  sur- 
rounding districts  to  maintain  the  traditions  of  the 
Irish,  and  to  support  their  brethren  who  had  gone  out 
from  Mallow,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  British  Em- 
pire, in  the  task  to  which  they  had  consecrated  all 
that  they  possessed.  They  were  also  reminded  of  the 
devotion  and  courage  of  their  townsman.  Captain 
Charles  Longfield,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  R.  E.  Long- 
field,  who  had  been  killed  in  action  a  short  time  be- 
fore close  to  Jerusalem,  and  who  had  been  mentioned 
in  despatches  for  the  "fearless  leading  of  his  Com- 
pany." 

The  chairman  thanked  the  lecturer,  who  had  come 
from  one  of  the  greatest  bases  of  supplies  and  en- 
thusiasm, for  his  addresses,  after  which  "God  Save 
the  King"  was  sung. 

A  lecture  was  given  at  Tullamore,  where  the  lec- 
turer's aunt,  Mrs.  Costello,  and  her  family,  the  Rector 
of  Saint  Catherine's,  the  Rev.  R.  S.  Craig,  M.A., 
Mr.  R.  H.  Foole,  and  several  others  did  a  great  deal 
toward  organizing  and  making  it  known.  The  follow- 
ing account  appeared  in  the  daily  press: 

"Ireland's    Attitude    the    Test    of    America's 
Friendship 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Costello  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  gave  an  illustrated  lecture  in  the  Gym- 


198 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

nasium,  Tullamore,  on  Wednesday  evening,  22d  May, 
on  'What  America  Is  Doing  in  the  War.'  After  deal- 
ing with  the  unpreparedness  of  the  world  for  the 
great  German  onslaught,  he  showed  the  thorough 
preparations  Germany  had  made  and  her  thorough- 
going methods  of  destroying  life,  religion  and  morals. 
In  the  course  of  his  lecture  he  stated  that  about  1,000,- 
000  soldiers  had  already  been  sent  to  France  from 
America,  ten  billion  dollars  had  been  given ;  food  and 
munitions,  Red  Cross  funds,  and  men  and  women 
for  the  work,  and  that  120  million  people  were 
pledged  to  win  the  war  in  America,  even  should  it 
cost  all  their  gold  and  all  their  lives.  He  lauded  Pres- 
ident Wilson,  whose  name  must  forever  stand  with  the 
names  of  Washington  and  Lincoln.  At  the  close  he 
read  the  letter  sent  to  him  recently  by  ex-President 
Roosevelt. 

There  was  a  good  audience,  and  the  lecturer's 
account  of  the  whole-hearted  way  in  which  the  great 
Republic  of  the  West  has  entered  into  the  struggle 
was  heartily  appreciated  and  elicited  vigorous  ap- 
plause. The  lecture  was  illustrated  by  a  large  num- 
ber of  excellent  slides,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  Poole  kindly 
operated  the  lantern  with  his  accustomed  skill.  A 
collection  was  made  in  support  of  the  local  Red  Cross 
funds." 

In  Dublin,  through  the  kindness  of  the  officers  in 
charge  of  the  Inter-Allied  Exhibition  for  the  After 
Care  of  Disabled  Soldiers,  to  whom  the  Lord  Mayor 


ANDAWAYOUT  199 


had  kindly  lent  the  large  building  adjoining  his  resi- 
dence, a  lecture  was  given.  The  following  is  taken 
from  The  Daily  Express,  August  15,  1918: 

"AMERICA  AND  THE  WAR 
Inspiring  Lecture  by  a  Brooklyn  Clergyman 

The  great  Inter-Allied  Exhibition,  at  the  Mansion 
House,  demonstrating  the  steps  being  taken  for  the 
after-care  of  disabled  men,  is  attracting  considerable 
interest,  and  the  Mansion  House  was  crowded 
throughout  yesterday,  large  numbers  of  enthusiastic 
visitors  voicing  their  appreciation  of  the  remarkable 
manner  in  which  the  Exhibition  is  being  conducted, 
and  of  the  many  wonderful  things  to  be  seen  there. 

A  lecture  was  delivered  in  the  Cinema  Theatre 
in  the  evening  by  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  Brooklyn, 
U.  S.  A.,  entitled  'What  America  is  Doing  in  the 
Great  War.' 

The  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson  informed  a  press  repre- 
sentative that  the  motives  impelling  him  to  lecture 
upon  the  subject  of  America  and  the  war  were  purely 
patriotic,  and  were  not  inspired  by  anybody. 

The  entry  of  a  number  of  American  sailors  to  the 
lecture  hall  was  the  signal  for  an  outburst  of  applause, 
which  the  Americans  smilingly  acknowledged. 

The  lecturer  stated  that  there  were  innumerable 
instances  of  the  almost  unbearable  insults  offered  by 
Germany  to  the  United  States,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  but  that  country  determined  to  bear  with 


200 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

them  as  long  as  possible,  in  order  to  observe,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  spirit  of  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  to  re- 
main herself  free  and  to  avoid  any  interference  in 
European  politics.  He  well  remembered  the  coming 
of  Mr.  A.  J.  Balfour  to  the  United  States  on  his  mis- 
sion from  Great  Britain;  he  remembered  the  French 
mission,  and,  most  touching  of  all,  he  remembered  the 
mission  from  the  stricken  Belgian  people.  It  touched 
the  hearts  of  the  Americans  and  they  found  it  increas- 
ingly difficult  at  the  time  to  refrain  from  entering  the 
war.  They  were  unprepared  when  1914  arrived; 
they  had  few  ships,  little  ammunition,  and  prac- 
tically no  organization.  But  they  had  the  spirit,  and 
knew  that  Belgium  had  been  almost  bled  to  death, 
and  that  France  was  being  overrun  by  the  German 
soldiery — brave  France,  with  her  temples  ruined  and 
her  shrines  desecrated.  War  was  brought  to  their 
very  door;  and  submarines  were  sent  to  their  coasts. 
It  was  no  greed  for  gain  that  drove  them  into  the 
war,  for  they  had  half  the  world's  gold  in  their  cof- 
fers. They  had  been  doing  all  in  their  power  to  help 
the  cause  of  the  Allies  from  the  beginning,  and  had 
sent  huge  supplies  of  food.  They  had  sent  their  Red 
Cross,  their  bandages,  their  women,  their  men,  and 
their  money  (applause).  At  last  America  did  join 
in  the  struggle ;  and  he  recalled  with  feelings  of  patri- 
otic fervor  a  day  when  he  stood  upon  Fifth  Avenue 
and  saw  the  first  recruits  swing  past.  And  an  inspir- 
ing picture  they  made,  including,  as  they  did,  in  their 
ranks    soldiers    of    all    nations.      He    crossed    the 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 201 

Atlantic  in  the  distinguished  company  of  the 
Archbishop  of  York  who  delivered  a  stirring  ser- 
mon, in  the  course  of  which  he  said  to  them:  'Do  not 
forget  that  those  in  France  have  been  fighting  for 
four  years.  They  are  tired.'  They  would  not  for- 
get it;  and  they  would  have  the  world  know  that 
America  was  not  in  the  war  to  win  it,  but  she  was 
there  to  help  to  win  it.  In  conclusion,  the  lecturer  said 
that  the  American  people  were  shocked  at  the  attitude 
of  Irishmen  towards  the  war.  There  were  'Irish' 
divisions  in  France  being  filled  by  men  who  were 
not  Irish.  If  the  Irish  people  wanted  to  recover  their 
fallen  prestige,  and  have  the  American  nation  take  a 
genial,  kindly  interest  in  them,  they  would  come  for- 
ward and  take  their  share  in  the  struggle.  This  was 
a  time  when  it  behooved  all  Irishmen  to  throw  their 
whole  weight  into  the  fight. 

Some  interesting  films  were  screened  showing 
war-time  scenes  in  America,  the  American  soldiers 
in  France,  and  in  the  course  of  their  thorough 
training." 

The  people  of  Ballymena  and  surrounding  districts 
turned  out  to  attend  the  recruiting  meeting  held  there 
five  thousand  strong.  It  was  the  largest  meeting  that 
the  writer  had  the  honor  of  addressing  while  in  Ire- 
land, and  the  sentiments  voiced  by  those  on  the  plat- 
form were  unmistakably  in  favor  of  conscription 
for  all  Ireland.  The  following  is  from  the  Bally- 
mena Observer y  August  23,  1918: 


202 THE     IRISH    TANGLE 

"The  Chairman  (Mr.  H.  Lancashire,  J.P.),  who 
was  accorded  an  enthusiastic  reception,  said  he  could 
assure  them  it  was  a  pleasing  sight  for  him  to  look 
on  at  that  vast  audience.  It  was  a  great  encourage- 
ment for  the  officers  who  had  come  there  to  put  be- 
fore them  the  appeal  for  voluntary  recruits.  The  first 
speaker  that  he  wished  to  call  upon  was  Colonel  Sir 
John  Leslie,  an  officer  who  had  commanded  the  12th 
Royal  Inniskilling  Fusiliers,  many  of  their  own  men 
from  Ballymena  having  served  under  him  at  the  camp 
out  in  Finner.  Most  of  them  might  have  private  opin- 
ions about  voluntary  enlistment  and  conscription,  but 
on  every  occasion  that  their  King  and  country  called 
on  them,  Ballymena  rallied  to  the  call.  He  felt  quite 
confident  that  when  it  was  made  known,  the  same 
patriotic  spirit  would  be  shown  that  had  been  shown 
in  the  past  by  the  men  from  Ballymena.  They  had 
a  reputation  to  keep  up,  and  he  was  quite  sure  that 
when  they  considered  the  call  that  was  being  made 
to  them,  they  would  never  allow  the  reputation  that 
Ballymena  had  had  in  the  past  to  be  lowered  one  iota. 
(Applause.)  He  would  not  detain  them  very  much 
longer.  They  had  distinguished  and  gallant  men  to 
address  them,  who  would  explain  the  whole  scheme 
much  better  that  he  probably  could,  and  without 
further  delay  he  would  call  upon  Colonel  Sir  John 
Leslie,  who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Irish  Recruit- 
ing Council  to  represent  Ulster.     (Applause.) 

Colonel  Sir  John  Leslie,  who  was  well  received, 
said  he  would  begin  by  introducing  himself  as  an  out- 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 203 

and-out  conscriptionist.  ('Hear,  hear.')  What  had 
Ireland  done  that  she  should  not  have  been  asked  be- 
fore to  take  her  place  side  by  side  with  the  gallant 
sons  of  the  rest  of  the  United  Kingdom?  However, 
in  place  of  conscription  they  had  got  what  was  called 
voluntary  enlistment,  and  as  in  favor  of  voluntary 
enlistment  they  had  got  the  opinion  of  that  gallant 
soldier.  Lord  French — the  most  distinguished  man 
of  the  day — and  his  opinion  was  that  one  volunteer 
was  worth  three  conscripts.  What  he  would  like  to 
see  would  be  the  joining  of  such  a  number  of  volun- 
teers that  there  would  be  no  question  of  conscription 
at  all.  (Applause.)  Their  area,  which  was  organ- 
ized by  his  friend.  Major  Montgomery,  was  asked  for 
8,500  men.  Surely  an  area  containing  such  a  county 
as  County  Antrim,  and  containing  such  a  city  as  Bel- 
fast, and  important  towns  like  gallant  Ballymena, 
should  be  capable  of  producing  that  number  of  men, 
and  probably  a  great  many  more.  The  great  war  for 
freedom  was  not  yet  over,  and  not  won  by  a  long 
way.  The  Allies  had  to  bring  every  man  into  the 
field  the  nations  could  produce  to  win  the  war  as  it 
should  be  won,  and  what  he  called  winning  the  war 
as  it  should  be  won  was  to  be  able  to  cross  the  Rhine 
— (applause) — ^marching  into  Germany  and  dictating 
the  terms  of  peace  in  Berlin.  (Applause.)  He, 
therefore,  urged  that  that  offer  of  voluntary  enlist- 
ment should  be  eagerly  accepted,  to  show  that  Ulster 
felt  that  she  should  have  been  asked  for  her  men 
years  ago,  and  that  not  only  could  they  find  the  quota, 


204  THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

but  thousands  besides.  He  asked  them  to  think  of 
the  awful  possibilities  of  them  not  winning  the  war, 
and  to  have  to  accept  disadvantageous  terms  of  peace. 
He  appealed  to  every  young  man  in  the  town  or  the 
country  that  could  be  spared  from  what  they  called 
war  work — that  was  any  work  that  promoted  the  war 
being  carried  on — that  those  young  men  should  take 
their  place  in  the  ranks  and  help  to  avert  any  such 
misfortune  as  he  had  alluded  to.  Think  of  their  own 
Ulster  Division,  and  of  the  awful  gaps  in  its  ranks 
that  had  to  be  filled  up  by  Englishmen,  and,  of  the 
Irish  divisions,  which  continued  to  be  only  Irish  in 
name.  As  colonel  of  a  reserve  battalion,  he  had  seen 
the  gallant  men  returning  to  their  reserves,  to  be  re- 
stored to  health  and  vigor,  and  he  had  seen  them  re- 
turning to  the  front  for  the  third  or  fourth  time  with- 
out a  murmur,  their  bodies  covered  with  honorable 
scars.  What  were  those  men  going  to  say  when  the 
war  was  over  to  those  who  stayed  at  home.  Their 
harvest  was  good,  and  there  would  be  middle-aged 
men  enough  left  to  save  it,  and  they  had  their  wives 
and  daughters,  who  would  help  them.  When  the  di- 
vision embarked  for  France  remember  that  they 
cheered  those  men  and  that  they  would  now  have  to 
take  their  place  at  their  side.  As  for  those  who  were 
left  in  towns,  let  him  advise  them  to  leave  their  coun- 
ters and  leave  off  doing  the  work  of  women  and  fight 
for  their  women  instead.  (Applause.)  Let  women 
do  women's  work,  and  let  them  continue  bravely  to 
do  the  work  of  men,  the  admiration  of  the  whole 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 205 

world.  Think  of  what  the  great  armies  in  the  field 
were  saying  of  their  stubborn  Island  that  seemed 
to  stand  aloof.  Think  of  the  Canadians,  Australians, 
and  the  mighty  host  of  Americans  who  would  elim- 
inate their  name  from  the  book  of  friendship  as  a  na- 
tion worse  than  neutral.  The  good  work  of  recruiting 
was  begun,  and  was  doing  well  in  other  provinces  as 
well  as  Ulster,  but  let  it  never  be  said  that  Ulster  did 
not  continue  to  give  a  glorious  and  successful  lead 
to  the  other  provinces  of  Ireland.     (Applause.) 

Mr.  W.  R.  Young,  Galgorm  Castle,  who  was  well 
received,  said  the  first  thing  he  ought  to  do  would 
be  to  inform  the  recruiting  deputation  who  had  come 
there  to  Ballymena,  that  Ballymena  had  given  to  the 
voluntary  enlistment  system  as  large  a  number  to  the 
British  Army  as  any  other  district  of  the  same  size 
and  population  in  the  United  Kingdom,  therefore  he 
said  in  agreement  with  his  friend  Colonel  Sir  John 
Leslie,  Mr.  Ronald  McNeill  and  Colonel  McCalmont, 
that  if  conscription  was  necessary  in  England  it  was 
equally  necessary  here.  They  were  in  the  proud  posi- 
tion of  knowing  and  realizing  that  in  every  great  ef- 
fort, in  every  glorious  fight  that  had  been  performed 
by  the  British  Army  since  the  opening  of  the  war  that 
the  men  from  Ballymena  had  had  their  share.  The 
men  from  Ballymena  and  district  had  been  in  the 
Mons  retreat,  in  the  Neuville  attack,  on  the  1st  July, 
on  the  Somme,  and  also  at  Messines  Ridge,  and  on 
every  other  great  occasion  on  the  French  front,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  men  from  other  ranks  who  were  serv- 


206 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

ing  in  Mesopotamia  and  in  Russia  and  other  fronts 
in  this  great  war.  He  said  at  the  same  time  that  they 
had  a  great  duty  to  perform.  If  they  could  not  get 
the  Government  to  give  them  conscription,  they  had 
got  to  find  them  men  under  the  voluntary  system. 
What  a  grand  example  they  had  in  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  representing  the  United  States,  who  were  the 
latest  among  their  Allies,  but  they  realized  what  it 
meant  in  this  great  war.  The  press  the  previous  day 
told  them  that  by  the  end  of  next  year  the  comrades 
of  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson  beside  him  would  have  found 
thirteen  millions  of  men  for  the  American  Army,  and 
millions  of  them  would  have  found  their  way  to 
France.  Ireland  and  the  Allies  were  included  in  the 
same  partnership  as  America,  and  he  said  to  Ireland, 
as  he  said  to  Ulster:  let  them  remember  that  they 
were  partners  not  only  of  Great  Britain  and  France 
and  Italy  and  parts  of  Russia,  and  they  were  bound 
as  partners  to  find  their  proper  quota  of  men,  whether 
by  conscription  or  under  the  voluntary  system.  He 
said  to  them  that  day,  for  God's  sake  remember  the 
reputation  of  Ulster.  He  said  to  the  young  men  un- 
der thirty,  for  God's  sake  remember  that  they  are 
Ulstermen,  remember  that  they  shared  in  the  partner- 
ship in  the  great  war. 

Rev.  Thomas  C.  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
also  delivered  an  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  told 
of  the  glorious  successes  won  by  the  Irish,  who  were 
the  first  to  cross  the  Ourcq  River,  as  they  were  going 
on  to  Berlin.     In  America  he  said  they  could  not 


ANDAWAYOUT  207 


keep  the  Irish  out  of  the  war,  and  he  appealed  to 
the  young  men  present  to  do  their  part  to  assist  them 
in  this  great  struggle  for  liberty  and  humanity. 
(Cheers.)" 

Others  who  addressed  the  meeting  were:  Colonel 
Robertson,  V.C;  Colonel  McCalmont,  M.P.;  Mr. 
Donald  McNeill,  M.P.;  Major  Drage,  Lieut.  Lanca- 
shire, Sergeant  Gilmur,  a  local  man  who  had  won  the 
D.C.M.  at  St.  Quentin,  and  Major  Montgomery. 

A  very  pleasing  feature  of  the  lecturer's  tour  was 
a  visit  to  Rathfriland,  where  his  sister,  Mrs.  M. 
Veage,  who  had  given  three  sons  to  the  Navy  and 
Army  during  the  war — the  eldest  of  whom  gave  his 
life  at  the  Dardanelles — ^resides.  The  Rev.  T.  B. 
Brown  and  several  men  of  the  town  helped  in  arrang- 
ing for  the  meeting,  which  was  held  in  a  hall  given 
by  a  patriotic  citizen  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  course  of  the  lecture,  which  narrated  Amer- 
ica's co-operation  and  her  determination  to  see  the 
war  brought  to  a  victorious  finish,  the  lecturer  paid 
tribute  to  what  Ulster  had  done  in  the  beginning  of 
the  war  and  of  her  desire  and  ability  to  contribute 
steadily  of  her  best  "to  make  the  world  safe  for  de- 
mocracy." A  collection  was  made  for  the  work  of 
the  local  Red  Cross. 

At  the  request  of  Major  Murphy  a  second  lecture 
was  given  in  Sligo,  of  which  the  following  account  ap- 
peared in  The  Sligo  Independent,  September  21, 
1918: 


208 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

"WHAT  AMERICA  IS  DOING  IN  THE  GREAT 

WAR 

Eloquent  Lecture  by  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  of 
Brooklyn 

Interesting  Scenes  of  Naval  and  Military  Prepara- 
tions.— Large  and  Enthusiastic  Audience, — The 
Position  of  Ireland, — Strong  Appeals  to  the  Young 
Manhood, 

It  is  wonderful  how  an  Irish  audience  can  be 
swayed  from  one  side  to  the  other.  True,  the  Irish 
race  is  the  most  impulsive  in  the  world.  These  facts 
were  very  strikingly  borne  out  in  the  Town  Hall, 
Sligo,  on  Tuesday  evening  last,  when  a  very  interest- 
ing lecture  entitled  'What  America  is  Doing  in  the 
Great  War,'  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson, 
Rector  of  the  Parish  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Brooklyn, 
U.  S.  A.  On  the  occasion  of  a  recruiting  meeting  the 
previous  week  there  was  a  considerable  amount  of 
hostility  by  Sinn  Feiners,  and  the  speakers'  appeals  on 
behalf  of  the  cause  of  the  Allies  were  drowned  in  in- 
terruptions. What  a  contrast  was  Tuesday  night!  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  Town  Hall  was  filled  to 
overflowing,  there  was  not  a  single  interruption,  though 
there  must  have  been  many  people  present  whose 
sympathies  were  with  the  Sinn  Feiners.  This  was 
largely  due  perhaps  to  the  atmosphere  in  which  they 
dwell,  but  when  taken  away  from  their  environment 
they  become  true  and  patriotic  citizens.    The  lecture 


AND    A    WAY    OUT  209 


certainly  gave  a  great  stimulus  to  patriotism,  while 
the  magnificent  scenes  of  the  tremendous  energies  dis- 
played by  America  in  the  interests  of  the  Allies  were 
so  real  and  far-reaching  that  even  an  out-and-out 
Sinn  Feiner  must  have  felt  that  he  was  on  the  wrong 
side  and  against  the  cause  of  justice  and  right.  Mr. 
W.  R.  Fenton,  D.L.,  made  an  admirable  chairman, 
and  took  the  opportunity  of  putting  before  the  young 
men  in  a  very  clear  and  impressive  manner  their  clear 
path  of  duty  in  the  war,  while  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson 
sent  it  home  to  the  entire  audience  by  his  eloquence 
and  the  forcible  way  in  which  he  related  why  America 
was  in  the  fight,  and  the  great  and  increasing  efforts 
she  was  putting  forth  to  bring  victory  to  the  Allies. 
Throughout  his  lecture,  Rev.  T,  G.  'Johnson  held  the 
rapt  attention  of  the  audience,  who  proved  by  their 
hearty  plaudits  at  intervals  their  very  high  apprecia- 
tion of  the  lecture.  Thanks  to  the  efforts  made  by 
Major  Murphy  and  the  other  officers  and  gentlemen 
attached  to  the  recruiting  headquarters  in  Sligo,  the 
arrangements  for  the  lecture  were  admirable,  and 
the  large  audience  were  immensely  pleased  and  en- 
joyed the  proceedings  to  the  fullest  extent. 

The  chairman,  who  had  an  enthusiastic  ovation, 
said  in  the  course  of  an  excellent  speech  that  he  had 
been  paid  a  great  compliment  by  being  asked  to  pre- 
side that  evening,  and  it  afforded  him  a  great  deal  of 
pleasure  indeed  to  be  the  medium  of  introducing  to 
them  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
(Applause.)     He  was  quite  certain  that  as  an  Irish- 


210 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

man  from  Cork,  as  a  citizen  of  America,  they  would 
give  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Johnson  a  warm  welcome  and  en- 
thusiastic reception.  (Applause.)  Rev.  T.  C.  John- 
son did  not  come  over  for  the  express  purpose  of  the 
war,  but  while  in  Ireland  he  volunteered  to  help  the 
great  cause  which  they  all  had  at  heart.  (Applause.) 
In  connection  with  the  lecture,  he  wished  to  take  the 
opportunity  of  adding  a  few  other  remarks.  He 
(Mr.  Fenton)  was  very  pleased  to  see  such  a  large 
and  splendid  audience,  and  he  was  also  delighted  to 
see  such  a  very  orderly  audience,  because  really 
they  were  going  to  have  a  treat,  and  he  would  be  very 
sorry  indeed  if  it  was  spoiled.  At  the  same  time,  he 
wished  to  make  some  reference  to  recruiting,  because 
the  dominant  issue  in  most  of  their  minds  at  the  pres- 
ent moment  was  to  rally  the  young  men  of  Ireland  to 
the  standard  of  the  Allies,  which  was  for  justice  and 
right.  (Applause.)  In  that  respect  he  wanted  to  ad- 
dress a  few  words  to  young  Ireland  and  old  Ireland. 
Amongst  the  latter  there  were  many  wise  heads,  and 
they  could  give  good  advice  to  the  younger  genera- 
tion. To  young  Irishmen  he  wished  to  make  a  strong 
appeal,  and  it  was  to  ask  them  to  come  down  from 
the  clouds  into  the  saner  atmosphere  of  the  world 
war  which  they  found  going  on  around  them.  He 
wanted  to  remind  them  that  they  had  a  duty  to  per- 
form, not  only  to  their  own  kith  and  kin  at  home  and 
in  America,  but  to  the  noble  and  brave  Irishmen  who 
had  fallen.  To  them  in  particular  they  had  a  duty 
to  perform,  and  he  trusted  they  would  not  forget  that 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 211 

obligation.  Ireland  had  done  remarkably  well.  She 
had  sent  out  thousands  of  her  sons  to  die  for  them  all, 
and  they  went  out  nobly  and  faced  fearful  odds  on 
the  express  understanding  that  those  whom  they  left 
behind  would  send  out  others  to  take  their  places. 
Many  of  their  sons  had  fallen  in  the  battle,  and  surely 
the  young  Irishmen  at  home  could  never  forget  that. 
Now,  he  wished  to  say  a  few  words  to  the  older  gen- 
eration. He  limited  himself  to  old  friends  and  neigh- 
bors in  his  own  native  county  of  Sligo.  It  was  by 
them  the  young  men  should  be  guided.  He  wished  to 
impress  upon  them  that  in  the  course  of  four  years  of 
war  not  a  single  German  bomb  or  gun  had  been  heard 
in  their  country  owing  to  the  protection  given  to  them 
by  the  greatest  Empire  in  the  world — the  British  Em- 
pire— to  which  we  all  had  the  honor  and  privilege  to 
belong.  (Applause.)  Through  the  protection  of 
that  great  Empire  not  a  single  stone  in  an  Irish  cot- 
tage had  been  disturbed,  whilst  France  and  Belgium, 
and  many  of  the  little,  defenseless  and  peaceable 
countries  of  Europe  had  been  flattened  out  and 
drenched  with  blood.  He  appealed  to  the  older  gen- 
eration to  try  and  put  some  sense  into  the  heads  of 
the  younger.  They  had  the  advantage  of  being  mem- 
bers of  the  greatest  Empire  this  world  had  ever  seen, 
under  whose  protection  they  had  lived  in  peace  and 
prosperity  for  all  those  four  years  of  this  dreadful 
war  that  was  destroying  the  greater  part  of  the  Con- 
tinent of  Europe.  But  if  they  had  their  rights  of 
citizenship,    and    their    security    from    destruction 


212 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

through  the  Armies  and  Navies  of  the  Empire  and  her 
Allies,  they  had  also  their  obligations,  and  one  of 
those  obligations — the  most  important  at  the  present 
time — ^was  to  help  recruiting.  He  appealed  to  the 
older  generation  to  take  off  their  cloak  of  com- 
placency and  apathy  towards  the  war.  He  did  not 
think  there  was  a  case  in  the  world's  history  in  which 
any  person,  or  body  of  persons,  who  deliberately  re- 
fused to  perform  the  solemn  obligations  and  duties 
cast  upon  them  could  escape  paying  the  penalty  of 
their  default.  As  sure  as  the  tide  ebbed  and  flowed, 
as  certain  as  night  followed  day,  if  those  people  re- 
fused to  come  out  into  the  open  and  take  their  places 
on  the  recruiting  platforms  of  the  country,  there  would 
be  a  corresponding  repercussion  in  proportion,  i.e., 
in  a  hundredfold  proportion  to  the  strength  of  the 
obligation  and  duty  which  had  been  so  deliberately 
neglected.  Were  we  going  to  leave  a  blot  on  the  fair 
fame  of  Ireland,  heretofore  great  chivalrous  Ireland, 
on  the  escutcheon  of  their  great  fighting  race,  their 
ancient  glory,  by  failing  through  their  neglect  to  do 
their  duty  at  the  present  time?  If  they  did  it  would 
be  a  tragedy  for  which  their  country  would  suffer  in 
the  future  for  refusing  to  take  her  place  amongst  the 
great  democracies  of  the  world.  Did  they  not  hear 
the  voice  of  their  own  kith  and  kin  calling  to  them 
to  come  and  take  the  places  of  those  who  had  given 
their  all — their  lives — that  their  old  men,  their  women 
and  their  little  children  might  live  in  peace  and  hap- 
piness? He  appealed  to  their  better  senses  to  come 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 213 

and  fill  up  the  gaps  of  their  Irish  regiments,  so  that 
they  themselves,  and  Ireland  and  Ireland's  sons  might 
still  go  down  to  posterity  with  imperishable  fame. 
(Applause.) 

Rev.  T.  G.  Johnson  had  a  very  warm  welcome  on 
coming  forward  to  deliver  his  lecture.  At  the  out- 
set he  said  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  be  in  Sligo  and 
stand  on  the  platform  of  their  Town  Hall  in  support 
of  the  great  cause  which  all  good  Irishmen  had  at 
heart.  They  were  all  very  anxious  that  Ireland  in 
that  war  should  maintain  her  dignity  and  retain  her 
splendid  tradition  by  supporting  the  great  recruit- 
ing campaign  going  on  in  Ireland  at  the  present  mo- 
ment. At  a  previous  meeting  in  Sligo  he  received 
such  a  kind  reception  that  he  had  a  great  desire 
to  come  back  again.  He  therefore  wished  to  return 
his  sincere  thanks  for  their  cordial  reception.  He 
here  mentioned  how  Germany  had  tried  to  cause  trou- 
ble in  Japan  and  Mexico.  America,  though  deeply 
stirred,  delayed  coming  into  the  war,  but  many  Amer- 
icans could  not  curb  their  feelings,  and  only  recently 
rights  of  citizenship  had  been  restored  to  those  who 
had  forfeited  them  by  joining  Ganadian,  British  and 
French  units.  America  was  not  in  the  war  for  money 
or  aggrandisement,  but  in  the  cause  of  humanity, 
right,  and  self-defense.  America  was  sending  men 
at  the  rate  of  11,000  per  day.  Victory  must  be 
proclaimed  in  Berlin.  (Applause.)  Proceeding, 
the  lecturer  referred  to  the  relationship  which  Ire- 
land  had   with   America,    and    mentioned    the    part 


214 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

which  Irishmen  had  taken  in  the  wars  of  the  United 
States.  He  quoted  the  following  from  a  news- 
paper published  that  day:  'Monsignor  Lavelle,  Car- 
dinal Farley's  chief  lieutenant,  writing  of  the  cheer- 
ing news  from  the  front,  says — "Our  greatest  delight 
is  the  news  regarding  the  heroism  of  the  165th  Reg- 
iment— formerly  the  old  Irish  69th.  It  is  splendid 
to  see  our  highest  hopes  realized.  They  are  the  re- 
sult of  American  resource  and  Irish  valor.  There  can- 
not be  a  finer  combination  in  the  world.  Amongst 
others,  Private  M.  J.  Hughes,  son  of  Mrs.  B.  M. 
Hughes,  of  County  Kerry,  was  cited  for  bravery,  hav- 
ing fought  6  Germans  single-handed,  killing  3,  trick- 
ing the  others,  and  getting  away  slightly  wounded."  ' 
(Loud  applause.)  Continuing,  the  lecturer  stated 
that  the  world  at  present  needed  more  of  that  spirit 
and  valor,  and  that  the  whole  American  people  were 
anxiously  looking  to  Ireland  to  do  her  full  part  in  the 
war.  Ireland  was  expected  to  do  great  things,  because 
of  her  wonderful  tradition,  and  her  desire  to  be 
reckoned  among  the  worthy  peoples  and  nations  in 
those  things  that  concern  righteousness,  justice  and 
peace.  He  told  of  the  brave  deeds  of  a  young  Irishman, 
W.  J.  Bellatty,  who,  before  the  war,  lived  in  his  parish 
in  Brooklyn.  This  young  man  volunteered  for  service 
in  the  American  Navy,  and  when  his  ship,  the  Alcedo, 
was  torpedoed  in  foreign  waters,  saved  the  ship's 
papers,  and  then  rescued  a  fellow  sailor  who  was 
drowning,  for  which  he  was  promoted  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy;  and  he  pleaded  that  Sligo  should 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 215 

send  such  men  of  courage  and  consecration  into  the 
Army  and  Navy  without  delay.  The  lecturer  then 
told  of  receiving  a  comic  drawing  from  a  friend  in 
America  depicting  the  coming  Peace  Conference,  in 
which  all  the  warring  Allied  nations  were  represented, 
and  at  which  Uncle  Sam  presided.  Outside  the  door 
— as  a  foolish  virgin — Erin  was  represented  bewail- 
ing her  inactivity  in  the  war,  and  pleading  to  be  ad- 
mitted, but  without  avail.  That  really  represented 
what  must  take  place  if  Ireland  did  not  do  her  part 
and  contribute  largely  and  generously  to  the  fight- 
ing force  of  the  world  while  opportunity  offered.  The 
world  looked  to  Ireland  not  for  a  ten  or  an  eleven 
per  cent,  of  the  small  quota  of  fighting  men  now 
asked  without  compulsion,  but  for  the  full  comple- 
ment— and  more — at  least  one  hundred  thousand  able 
and  worthy  men.  The  lecturer  here  quoted  from  a 
letter  he  had  recently  received  from  ex-President 
Roosevelt — 'Say  to  the  people  of  Ireland  that  the 
test  of  our  friendship  in  the  future  for  any  nation 
should  be  that  nation's  attitude  in  this  war.'  The 
lecturer  then  pointed  out  the  aims  of  America  in 
the  war,  as  stated  in  President  Wilson's  reply  to  the 
Pope,  August  27,  1917,  which  are  as  follows:  *(1) 
Recognition  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of  nations;  (2) 
principle,  the  government  for  the  governed;  (3)  rep- 
aration for  wrongs  done  and  adequate  safeguards; 
(4)  no  indemnities  except  as  payment  for  manifest 
wrongs — a  genuine  co-operation  of  nations.  No  ma- 
terial   profit.      No    aggrandisement    of    any    kind. 


216 THE    IRISH    TANGLE 

America  was  fighting  for  no  advantage  or  selfish  ob- 
ject; she  was  fighting  for  the  liberation  of  people 
from  the  aggression  of  autocratic  force.' 

Results  Already  Attained  in  America 

She  had  repaired  to  God  in  humble  supplication; 
she  had  been  reunited,  the  old  wounds  had  disap- 
peared; and  she  was  now  one  in  hope,  consecration 
and  service.  She  had  been  united  with  the  world  at 
large  in  that  common  solidarity — each  seeking  his 
neighbor's  good,  joined  in  common  brotherhood.  She 
had  risen  above  material  objects,  and  by  sacrifice  had 
found  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world.  America  had 
found  her  soul,  and  with  God's  aid  was  saving  it. 
(Loud  applause.) 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  lecture  a  very  interesting 
and  instructive  cinematograph  exhibition  was  given . 

The  proceedings  concluded  with  the  singing  of 
'God  Save  the  King.'  " 

The  writer  greatly  appreciated  the  privilege  of 
addressing  the  people  of  Ireland  on  the  war,  and  of 
assisting  the  Irish  Recruiting  Council  in  the  great 
patriotic  work  which  they  had  in  hand  during  his  stay 
in  Ireland.  Before  leaving  London  for  America, 
Colonel  T.  W.  Sellar,  in  the  absence  of  Lieutenant 
Cox,  R.G.A.,  Secretary  of  the  Irish  Recruiting  Coun- 
cil, sent  him  the  following  letter,  which  he  values 
highly: 


AND    A    WAY    OUT 217 

"Irish  Recruiting  Council, 
25  Kildare  Street,  Dublin, 
4th  November,  1918. 

The  Council  on  the  occasion  of  the  Rev.  T.  C. 
Johnson's  departure  from  Ireland,  desire  to  place  on 
record  their  thanks  for,  and  appreciation  of,  his  valu- 
able assistance  in  addressing  recruiting  meetings,  and 
in  impressing  upon  Irish  audiences,  the  interest  with 
which  America  is  watching  Ireland's  action  during 
the  war. 

A.  M.  Sullivan, 
H.  McLaughlin, 
John  Leslie, 
Stephen  Gwynn,  Capt., 
Maurice  Dockrell." 


^■^%^ 


1.^. 


Date  Due 

UlK-?r'fl6 

'  jun   '-' 

~"    TWP^ 

IfiBB 

1 

MAV 

19  1970 

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5;    <  ■     ■: 

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